PURCHASINGASIA

Opportunities: China to lead in electric vehicle market

Case studies: Khoo Teck Puat Hospital heals the earth

People: Turnaround expert helms Green Tech Malaysia

Info: Singapore tops list of Asian green cities

Editorial: Taiwan exceeds green procurement target

Green buildings

Looking beyond cost

preview issue

not for sale

APRIL 2011PP17241/03/2012 (029499)

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Cover photo: Artist impression by Cybertecture of the Technosphere (Dubai)

GREEN EXCHANGE 42

editorial 38

Sustainability innovators around the world 38

Taiwan exceeds target in green procurement 39

From the managing editor’s desk 4

Buy into a green future 6

opportunities 9

China powers up to lead world EV market 9All eyes are on China as the government and the private sector form a formidable tag team to create the world’s largest EV market

E ects of apan’s nuclear crisis on solar PV market 13

Indonesia market to heat up this year 14

Mimi seeks partners 14

New spun innovation in eco-friendly textiles 15

Money from oil palm waste 16

Cyberjaya builds on its cool solutions 17

information 40

Singapore tops list of Asian green cities 40

News briefs 44

Incentives for green investments in Thailand 46

Fantastic money spinners in clean tech 47

Homework 48

case studies 18

Architects make a case for green 20

World’s greenest skyscraper 22

Khoo Teck Puat Hospital heals the earth 24

Trendsetters on show 28

Super orb that lives, breathes and thinks 32

people 35

Turnaround expert heads Green Tech Malaysia 35Dr Nazily Mohd Noor on the projects that he will be pushing to give Malaysia the edge in greentech

India’s Wind Man looks to China 36

Contents cover

Looking beyond costArchitects say they have to push for property developers to go green as many are still stuck on returns on investment arguments. But an industry specialist feels not enough is being done to

esh out the tangible bene ts of complying with green rating requirements.(see pg18)

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35

PURCHASINGASIA

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are moving. There’s just too much to digest. A lot of it is jargon.

And this is where Green Purchas-ing Asia really comes into its own. We do what we do best as journalists: we try to tell great stories in the hope that some of what we write will stick with our readers. Even if those stories are about monocrystalline solar photovol-taics, biomass power generation or smart grids.

For this 48-page preview, we harvested the low-hanging fruits of green buildings for our cover series, which showcases several trailblazing projects over 13 pages. We believe there are opportunities aplenty in not only developing green buildings, but also retrofi ts.

In our Opportunities section, we look at China’s electric vehicle (EV) ambitions. The government and the private sector are working as a tag team in an EV match with the US.

The new captain of Malaysia’s Green Technology Corporation, Dr Nazily Mohd Noor, and Suzlon Group’s Tulsi Tansi of India are the fi rst sub-jects of the People section. We are eye-ing a few big guns for future issues.

As we prepare for our inaugural edition in June, we invite industry play-ers to engage with us. Send us your views or articles if you have experi-ences to share. Or just want to provoke a debate.

I thank you for taking time to read this magazine. And my appreciation to the companies that believed enough in our product to co-brand with us.

Watch out for our inaugural issue in June

All eyes on Malaysia’s FiTThe spotlight is on Malaysia’s feed-in tariff mechanism, which will fast-track the country’s renewable energy sector.

“We enjoy not only the privilege of ex-istence, but also the singular ability to appreciate it and even, in a multitude of ways, to make it better. It is a trick we have only just begun to grasp.”

This excerpt from the closing chapter of Bill Bryson’s 2005 book, A Short History of Nearly Everything, gave me some comfort as I put this magazine to bed.

I fi rst wrote about renewable en-ergy some 30 years ago when Malay-sia was caught up in the world energy crisis that brought Europe to its knees. I never revisited that topic as my coun-try found oil and gas. The Europeans, however, went on to develop renewable energy technologies and are today responsible for the greatest break-throughs in this area. Yes, Bryson was right: we are able to make the world a better and more sustainable place to live in. Unfortunately, however, we are taking our time to do it.

Perhaps what might make a dif-ference this time is that there is a real fear among earthlings that Mother Earth is in bad shape. There are many things about the climate that we don’t understand.

Fear is a good thing. It changes the way we think about things, what we buy, where we live, how we travel and whether we even need to do certain things at all. It has also transformed the way we do business.

In putting together content for this preview, I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of knowledge that has been churned out by the scientifi c community and multi-national corpora-tions, and the speed at which things

From the managing editor’s desk

David Lee Boon Siew boonsiew@greenpurchasingasia.com

EditorialEditor: Lim Siang Jin Managing editor: David Lee Boon SiewAssistant editor: Siaw Mei LiContributing editors: Ann Teoh, Jason TanContributing writers: Eleanor Chen, Stephen Ng, Yeap Jin Soo, William de Cruz

Marketing & sales Sam Thong

Creative & designKhoo Kay Hong, Ng Jen Ling, Tan Sueh Li

Production & advertising traffi cEddy Yap

Subscription & circulationYap Eng Jin

Finance & operationsKym Chong

Corporate Managing director: Lim Siang Jin

PublisherBriomedia Green Sdn Bhd (924679-H)3-3 Jalan Solaris 2, Solaris Mont Kiara50480 Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaTel: 603 6203 7681 Fax: 603 6211 2681Email: editor@greenpurchasingasia.com

PrinterKHL Printing Co Sdn Bhd (235060-A)Lot 10 & 12, Jalan Modal 23/2Seksyen 23, Kawasan Miel Phase 840000 Shah Alam, Selangor, MalaysiaTel: 603 5541 3695 Fax: 603 5541 3712

© 2011: Briomedia Green Sdn Bhd

Letters and articles are welcome, andshould be addressed to:The Editor at Green Purchasing Asia3-3 Jalan Solaris 3, Solaris Mont Kiara50480 Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaEmail: letters@greenpurchasingasia.com

Endorsed byMinistry of Energy, Green Technology and Water, MalaysiaInternational Green Purchasing Network

DisclaimerBriomedia Green Sdn Bhd (924679-H) believes that the information published at the time of printing is correct. The views expressed in the articles are not necessarily those of the publisher. While the publisher has taken reasonable care in compiling the magazine, it shall not be liable for any omission, error or inaccuracy. Editorial contributions are welcome but unsolicited materials are submitted at the sender’s risk. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage. All rights reserved by Briomedia Green Sdn Bhd (924679-H). No part of this publication may be reproduced without the publisher’s written permission.

The team

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• Green buildings and eco-cities cov-ering, among others, green building certifi cation programmes, new build-ing design and materials for energy effi ciency, retrofi ts and power saving lighting technology

• Transportation, including plug-in electric vehicles (EV), hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and automobile alter-natives like rail

• Smart grids, which turns consum-ers into producers of energy, smart meters to track consumption and manage electrical fl ow and new interconnect standards

• Water and waste management, focusing on desalination technol-ogy, reverse osmosis and wastewater management; and solid waste man-agement

• Clean industry, taking into account such issues as carbon management and green supply chains

• Green fi nance, viz, venture capital and bank loans, grant programmes (NGOs and government) and govern-ment incentives.

To help readers navigate the maga-zine easily, we have divided it into fi ve broad areas, each assigned a weight-

Twenty-fi rst century living will be steeped in green. Mankind, highly adaptive and resilient, is rising to the challenge of environmental degrada-tion. It will be our main preoccupation in the decades to come.

While there is no quick fi x, the gist of the solution is simply this: Get everyone to “purchase green”. This means we have deal with the complex issues of greening the supply chain and proliferating products and services that are “carbon neutral” and environ-ment-friendly.

Asia, as a socio-economic force, is now positioned to become a leader in world development. It comes at a time when sustainability issues are mov-ing mainstream. Moreover, people the world over are now placing their hopes on a green new deal to deliver growth and employment.

It is my contention that this region will be the centre of gravity, a centrip-etal force of economic activity, giving the greatest impetus to the green agen-da. Concurrently, there will be a great need for market information.

What Green Purchasing Asia doesGreen Purchasing Asia is a specialist publication that provides market com-

munications support to the growing network of green vendors and purchas-ers in their common bid to build a sustainable future that is also economi-cally viable.

We are a monthly magazine, to be made available both in print and, more importantly, online. Green Purchasing Asia will disseminate up-to-date in-formation on an industry that is today conservatively estimated to be worth 1,300 billion Euros worldwide.

Green Purchasing Asia’s main purpose is to provide a well-structured avenue of immediately-useful infor-mation to buyers and sellers of green products and services in major sectors, especially in Asia, and to buttress the development of a business community around it.

The magazine will cover the fol-lowing sectors, which have seen the greatest technological innovations and increasing economies of scale:• Renewable energy, including solar

energy, wind power, geothermal and mobile applications

• Biofuels from food and non-food sources, including palm oil, sugar-cane, corn and jatropha

• Biomass from various organic, inorganic and mixed sources like oil palm, wood, sugar cane, corn and household waste

PURCHASINGASIA

Buy into a green future

Lim Siang JinManaging director & editorsiangjin@greenpurchasingasia.com

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age to ensure consistent and adequate editorial space allocation.• Opportunities: These include project

announcements, tenders and new eco products and services. This will be a section heavy on actionable information. Weightage: 30%

• Case studies: We focus on projects that use green technology, like eco-cities, solar farms and waste recov-ery projects in large plantations. In these articles, we will list out the names and contacts of developers, suppliers and contractors involved in those projects for networking. Weightage: 30%

• People: This section focuses on interviews with thought leaders and captains of industry in green busi-nesses. We will also cover small and medium enterprises involved in trail-blazing projects. Weightage: 15%

• Editorials: Opinion pieces, col-umns and feature stories on climate change, sustainable development and other relevant subject matters are the meat of this section. It is designed to provoke debate, so that

by talking about issues, we think of new ways and approaches to solving problems. Weightage: 15%

• Information: This includes news di-gest, events calendar, letters, reviews of books and reports on climate change, green technology or related topics, market entry conditions and new country regulations, policies and incentives. Weightage: 10%

Dual role of governmentThe government’s role is not only to set the policy environment to drive the green agenda. It is also a massive mar-ket player in the economy, account-ing for up to 30% of purchases. Any decision by governments to procure green will have a major infl uence on the market.

It is this dual role that makes gov-ernments important customers, which is why we are targeting 40% of our print and online circulation at senior government servants. The remaining 60% will be aimed at the business community, international agencies and non-government organisations.

Publication of choiceGreen Purchasing Asia is designed to be the publication of choice for all decision makers keen to build their procurement and other business activi-ties around the green agenda in Asia.

Our team comprises profession-als who have been in the business for several decades and have successfully started up and published major maga-zines in Malaysia and Singapore.

With this 48-page preview to give a “look and feel” of the magazine, we are on the fi rst step of an exciting journey. We sincerely hope you can join us as stakeholders in our project – as readers, advertisers, sponsors or as contributors.

We look forward to your participa-tion.

Thank you.

On Friday March 24th, the production deadline for this preview issue, our managing editor David Lee asked me to explain Green Purchasing Asia the way I do best – on our whiteboard. These doodles were the outcome and they distill the underlying

thoughts that have gone into Green Purchasing Asia so that our stakeholders – readers, advertisers, other sponsors, collaborators, contributors, staff , investors, etc – may gain a greater understanding of the ideas and values we work with.

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Green vehicles are key to the development of China’s auto industry

as auto exhaust emissions account for 70% of the country’s air pollution in major

Chinese cities

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The latest buzz in the car industry is electric vehicles (EVs) and China intends to be ahead of the pack.Now the world’s biggest auto market and one of the strongest advocates of EVs, China has implemented policies for EVs that form part of its national innovation programmes to build a green economy and eventually become the world leader in electric cars and buses.

According to Pike Research, EVs represent one of the priorities for China’s innovation and growth strategy. While most other governments support EV-related policies, China has established national plans linked to EV policies.

For multiple government entities to collaborate on strategic planning

in a single industry in China is highly unusual, yet China’s Ministry of Finance, National Development of Reform Commission, Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology are doing just that.

China plans to make new energy vehicles – electric and hybrid – a national priority and to be the world’s largest new energy automobile production country. According to Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang, green vehicles are key to the development of China’s auto industry as auto exhaust emissions account for 70% of the country’s air pollution in major Chinese cities.

Halving the number of cars entering Beijing before the Olympics

opportunities

China powers up to lead world EV marketConcerted government support paying off

By Eleanor Chen

proved that pollution from exhaust could be reduced. Electric cars generate fewer emissions and are also more effi cient than cars that use petrol.

China Car Times (CCT) suggests that the push to battery-powered EVs is due to two factors. First, China lags behind the West in terms of technology in traditional fi elds such as internal combustion engines and gearboxes, as well as hybrid EVs’ mechanical-electric coupling.

In the electric-drive arena, the gap is not as wide. EVs are a better prospect for China’s automotive industry. They are relatively simple cars and the lack of complexity – compared to something like a hybrid vehicle – means more room for more companies to participate.

Second, China’s oil reserves are limited, and global oil reserves are expected to plateau then decline in this century. In 20 years, global oil reserves could be reduced to half of what it is today. China, it seems, intends to reduce urban pollution and

Multinational joint ventures inevitable in the future

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EVs are expensive and the single largest cost is the battery. Manufacturing one that is safe, reliable, long-lasting and fast-charging, is both complex and costly. The price of an EV battery that can give a range of 160km is similar to the price of a small petrol car. In addition, battery replacement may be needed after fi ve to ten years.

Battery cost is likely to fall as production increases and could possibly halve in the next fi ve years. EVs on the road or in the works all use diff erent types of batteries – nickel sodium chloride, lithium-ion, lithium-metal-polymer – and sizes. To reduce the cost of ownership, companies like Detroit Electric in the US lease batteries to

Batteries in China such as those initially developed by Wanxiang Group had two problems: the batteries used in electric buses were unable to keep a charge as long as they wanted and had a higher rate of defects.

Companies like BYD – one of the top four manufacturers worldwide and the largest Chinese manufacturer in the lithium-ion, nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal-hydride rechargeable batteries – claim to have achieved a breakthrough with their lithium-ion ferrous phosphate technology.

According to BYD, the production and use of this battery is eco-friendly: no pollution or harmful emissions are released during production, and the material and chemicals used are completely recyclable. BYD intends to make its batteries 100% recyclable and has developed a non-toxic electrolyte fl uid.

opportunities

decrease its dependence on oil while creating a world-leading industry that will produce jobs and exports.

The wide use of EVs also has several practical advantages in China. Intercity driving is rare. Commutes are fairly short and frequently at low speeds because of traffi c jams. Thus the limitations of all-electric cars – the latest models in China have a top speed of 96.5km an hour and a range of 193km between charges – present less of a problem.

Heavy subsidyOver the next ten years, the Chinese government will spend more than 100 billion yuan to subsidise its fl edgling green vehicle industry, state media said. Battery-powered vehicles are eligible for maximum subsidies of 60,000 yuan (US$9,115 at the current exchange rate). The same subsidy applies for each all-electric vehicle or hybrid purchased by taxi fl eet operators and local government agencies in 13 Chinese cities. The state electricity grid has also been ordered to set up electric car charging stations in Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin.

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has drafted a ten-year plan which proposes

that foreign automakers wishing to develop electric vehicle technology in China be required to form a joint venture with a Chinese company. The foreign company would hold a 49% stake while the Chinese company retains the majority 51% stake. While this has outraged US automakers and dissuaded their Japanese counterparts somewhat, it remains to be seen how this will affect the industry in the long term.

Mass roll-outsChinese automaker BYD Company Limited – with backing from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway – has

The e6 by China’s BYD, now leading the race to build an aff ordable EV

an edge over its bigger rivals in the race to build an affordable electric car. Unlike most automakers, BYD manu-factures nearly all its cars by itself, from the engines and body to air-conditioning, lamps, seatbelts, airbags, and electronics.

According to company offi cials, close to 10,000 of the BYD F3DM (for “dual mode”; it can run on either pure battery power or a combination of pet-rol and electricity) have been sold in the home market as of mid-February.

Although general release of the all-electric e6 has met with some set-backs, there are currently 50 e6s that have been operating as electric taxis in

customers in battery rental programmes of up to fi ve years.

Nissan’s Leaf, currently on US roads, is the fi rst all-electric car with a lithium-ion battery pack – much like the battery packs in laptop computers – that is lighter and holds more power than comparably sized nickel-metal-hydride batteries used in most EVs and petrol-electric hybrids.

On a full charge, the Leaf’s 48 lithium-ion battery modules can go for 160km before they need to be recharged.

China has channelled 8.5 billion yuan into the green car industry to help build up the country’s battery output into one capable of supplying 150,000 electric vehicles by October, according to Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang.

A battery of challenges

Nissan Leaf battery gauge

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Shenzhen since May 2010. BYD is also in a joint venture with German carmak-er Daimler AG to produce a new EV specifi cally for the Chinese market.In Malaysia, an MOU with the Berjaya Group to assemble BYD’s 1.0-litre F0 four-door hatch in the state of Selangor was scuttled. Nevertheless, since Malaysia’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry has granted Berjaya a licence to build vehicles, the joint venture could eventually bring in new EVs to Malaysia and tap incentives offered by the local government for green technology vehicles.

Elsewhere, Nissan’s Leaf – its fi rst all-electric vehicle and the 2011 European Car of the Year – is the fi rst electric vehicle to roll out commercially. The Leaf has a range

The Nissan Leaf cabin is designed to optimise posture and ensure healthy air quality for its passengers

Nissan Leaf is the fi rst EV to be commercially rolled out

CLP introduced two quick chargers in Hong Kong. Each is capable of charging an EV, within 10 minutes, to run as far as 50km

Hong Kong Ltd launched a scheme where EVs will be leased to partner corporations for a year, after which the partners can opt to buy their leased EVs at a reduced price minus the leasing fee paid. An EV rental service is also available wherein drivers may gain practical experience in driving and charging EVs before committing to a purchase.

While China’s plans for market dominance are undoubtedly ambitious, dynamic market forces will dictate the eventualities. The positive impact of the Chinese government’s concerted support, however, provides an encouraging glimpse of how rapidly an industry can be greened when the private and public sectors work in tandem.

In January, CLP inaugurated fi ve EV leasing partners who will each go on to promote EVs to wider audiences

of 160km between charges, can be charged from the domestic household mains, and is already on sale in Japan and the US.

In Hong Kong, CLP Power

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As shiny new EVs take to the road, serious questions remain about the lack of infrastructure to charge them. Some believe EVs should plug in at a driver’s home or workplace. Others back a network of roadside recharging stations.

Many countries use 208VAC or 240VAC and 15Amp to 32Amp to charge EVs due to the favourable trade-off between speed of charging and the cost of charging equipment.

Charging times for an EV battery are fairly similar from manufacturer to manufacturer; one hour of charging time will restore 26.4km of range in a typical EV battery. Full recharge time is eight hours for the Nissan Leaf (with 160km range batteries) at 240VAC.

A typical fast charging device may require over 400V and 100Amp, but will recharge a 160km range battery in as little as 20 to 30 minutes.

California-based Better Place envisions a global network of switch stations: petrol station-like outlets where drivers can swap a spent battery with a fully charged one in a few minutes. Since time is a factor and charging an EV battery can take up to eight hours, switching batteries makes sense. Based on a subscription plan, such services will cover the use

Taking charge of EVs

of switch stations, lease of a battery, and the electricity used.

In Asia, Hong Kong was the fi rst to move towards a citywide EV charging network. Hong Kong’s largest electric utility, CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd, partners nine companies in a network of 26 standard charging stations and two quick chargers at public car parks – many inside high-traffi c, popular shopping centres.

The CLP EV quick charger takes

ten minutes to charge up an EV to run for around 50km while the standard charging station takes four hours to do the same. CLP started by off ering free EV charging last year and has since extended this initiative to the end of the year.

Although EV infrastructure is in its infancy in Hong Kong, CLP is open to opportunities for joint promotion of EVs and the development of charging infrastructure across cities in the Pearl

River Delta (PRD). Across the PRD, there are six

charging stations in Shenzhen while more are being built. The charging time is signifi cantly shorter here; BYD e6 taxis can be fully charged in 40 minutes using the fast charging station.

Since most urban Chinese live in apartments and cannot install charging devices in driveways, more public charging centres need to be set up. The April 2009 Renault-Nissan Alliance announced a partnership with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to bring zero-emission vehicles to China. Nissan will provide a blueprint for a charging network and programmes for marketing EVs while the Chinese government will roll out new energy vehicles within the public transport sector.

BYD has set up charging cabinets for the e6 in locations around Shenzhen

A few of the 50 e6 used as taxis in a trial in Shenzen that started in May last year. Initial assessments have revealed no signifi cant problems

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forecast, following are some potential scenarios: • With signifi cant damage to electric power infrastructure in the country’s north-east, Japan may look towards solar PV to alleviate power needs in the short term and to maintain the growth of one of its sunrise industries.• Hard pressed to provide base load capacity and avoid rolling blackouts, utilities would spend more money on creating temporary base load power, either by running some of the desig-nated peaking plants or hiring large capacity power generators. This may mean RPS and other solar incentives may take a back seat so far as the utili-ties are concerned. • As a part of the reconstruction pack-age, the government may allocate a share of the expenditure to promote solar PV, a technology which Japan leads.

In all likelihood, the beleaguered government and the power sector would not do anything that would por-tray them as less environment-friendly. Hence the support for solar is likely to continue, if not increase, post crisis.

Japan as supplierJapanese companies like Mitsubishi, Tokuyama, and M Setek are the three largest producers of polysilicon. The leading wafer producers are Kyocera, M Setek and TKX. Sanyo, Sharp and Kyocera are the three large cell manu-facturers. Except for M Setek, whose facilities are in the crisis epicentre, all other manufacturers have their facili-ties in central or western Japan.

Also Japan’s share in the global solar PV supply base has come down over the last several years, because of the rise of Chinese suppliers across the value chain and also Japanese compa-nies setting up manufacturing facilities overseas to take advantage of cost and nearness to markets.

Thus, the impact on the PV supply chain will be minimal and the industry has enough buffer capacity to over-come any potential short-fall from Japan.

The author is the vice president of Energy & Power Systems Practice, Asia Pacifi c, Frost & Sullivan.

The impact of the current nuclear cri-sis in Japan on the global solar markets should be analysed from three different dimensions.

Market reaction There will be increasing calls to aban-don nuclear power and promote alter-native energy. Solar power will be one of the top choices of the green lobby. The prices of Suntech Power, First Solar and Trina Solar increased in the middle of March, even as the stock prices of companies associated with nuclear energy like General Electric, Areva, Energy Resources of Australia and TEPCO fell sharply. But for the solar industry to really benefi t from the problems of nuclear, it takes more than market sentiment. The industry will still depend on government fi nancial and policy support to grow. Some countries or states may encourage development of solar energy, and try to postpone or cancel their plans for nuclear power. But this direct correla-tion will not be large enough to have a signifi cant impact globally.

Outlook for JapanJapan had some of the following poli-cies in place for solar energy:

The PV Roadmap toward 2030 (PV2030) suggested measures like mass deployment of PV system to make it competitive against other ener-gy sources in terms of cost, innovations in terms of technology, effi ciency and manufacturing process, and a widening of PV application areas. According to

the revised roadmap released in 2009, a goal has been fi xed to decrease the generation cost to less than US$0.07 (7 yen) by 2050, which will contribute signifi cantly to the future development of the PV industry.

Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) which obligates electric utilities to use a fi xed amount of new energy has set the utilisation target (electricity to be produced from new energy) for the fi scal year 2014 at 16 billion kWh.

Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) introduced Feed-in Tariff (FiT) in 2009 and the initial rate to be paid to the owners of PV systems would be 48 yen per kWh for residen-tial customers (double the current rate of 24 yen per kWh) and 24 yen per kWh for systems on non-residential structures for a period of ten years for the surplus electricity that is not used on the premises. All the electric utilities in the country are mandated to take part in this scheme. The tariff is likely to start digressing in 2011.

With the above considerations, Frost & Sullivan forecasts the total installed solar PV capacity in Japan to rise from 3,504MWp in 2010 to 16,959MWp by 2017. The correspond-ing market revenues were US$7,280 million in 2010, and are expected to increase to US$18,315 million in 2017 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.1% between 2010 and 2017.

While it is still early to predict the direct impact of the earthquake and nuclear crisis in Japan on the above

opportunities

Eff ects of Japan’s nuclear crisis on solar PV marketSupport for solar is likely to continue, if not increase, post-crisis

Industry has enough capacity to overcome potential shortfall from Japan

By Ravi Krishnaswamy

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Amongst all the renewable energy (RE) technologies, geothermal power and small hydropower attracted the most private sector investments in In-donesia last year and are likely to hold investors’ attention this year.

Indonesia seems to have realised the urgent need to adopt RE technolo-gies to meet its electricity demand growth of about 7.0% pa.

The Indonesian government is therefore offering tax incentives for RE project developers. It has also signed a major memorandum of understanding with General Electric for the joint de-velopment of RE projects in Indonesia. As a result, the RE market growth is expected to be slightly better this year.

Still, Indonesia lags behind its South-east Asian counterparts in the widespread acceptance and deploy-ment of various RE technologies except geothermal power. Though the country has abundant RE resources and the government has incorporated renewable energy targets into the National Energy Management Blue-

Indonesian market to heat up this year

Mimi seeks partners

Geothermal power generation still investors’ darling

Wind and solar PV power not gaining interest

By Suchitra Sriram

By Ann Teoh

print 2005–2025, sluggish implementa-tion restricted market penetration of fastest-growing technologies such as wind, solar photovoltaic (PV) power and bio-energy in the country last year.

Indonesia is highly dependent on thermal power plants, which are vastly available and can bridge the growing electricity demand-supply gap. The In-donesian government aims to reach a capacity of 9500MW in the geothermal market by 2025.

In terms of industry specifi cs, geothermal power generation contin-ues to attract investments in Indone-sia, but market growth is expected to moderate between 8% and 10%.

According to the second 10,000 MW crash programme introduced by the government of Indonesia, geo-thermal power generation has been accorded high priority. However, some projects have not been able to get environmental clearance and face

opportunities

A series of Made-in-Malaysia invert-ers (Mimi) for grid-connected photo-voltaic systems are available for com-mercialisation. What’s more interesting is Mimi promises to perform well in places of high humidity like Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

opposition from environmental groups as reservoirs have been identifi ed in forest areas.

In South-east Asia, Indonesia’s market attractiveness for RE technolo-gies is expected to be low especially for wind and solar PV power this year as there are no regulatory framework and policies such as “feed-in-tariff”.

The impact of declining prices of these technologies has not been felt in Indonesia because of weak demand. This is largely because end users in urban areas are supplied highly subsi-dised electricity. Hence, wind and solar PV power continue to generate interest only for rural and remote areas that are not connected to the grid.

Growth of the small hydropower market is likely to remain stable at 8% this year as these facilities are largely installed to provide electricity in rural and remote areas, and in islands where grid extension is economically unvi-able.

Despite immense potential to develop biomass power, several indus-try challenges such as lack of credit, logistics issues and limited incentives will restrict market penetration of this technology.

The writer is Frost & Sullivan’s Asia Pacifi c programme manager for the Energy & Power Systems Practice.

who had scoffed at Mimi came back complaining to him (Nasrudin) when the hundreds of off-the-shelf inverters he bought failed to work.

The Mimi inverters which have been put up for “sale” are moving fast. The 1.2kW, 2kW and 3.4kW models

Designed by the Universiti Malaya Centre of Research for Power Electronics, Drives, Automation and Control (UMPEDAC), with funding from the United Nations Development Project (UNDP) and Global Environment Fund (GEF), Mimi can also be customised to suit local needs.

UMPEDAC founder and director, Professor Dr Nasrudin Abdul Rahim says PV inverters created for the temperate climate do not work well in places of high humidity because of condensation. He recounts an incident in which a businessman

Why buy Made-in-Malaysia inverters?• Suitable for high humidity• Can be customised for local needs• For Malaysian companies,

Feed-in-Tariff incentives

The expected 2011 market growth rate for geothermal power generation in Indonesia is between 8% and 10%

• Meets international standards

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opportunities

New spun innovation in eco-friendly textiles

A new cotton-blend alternative has arrived to help textile makers manage the unpredictability of weather-sensitive raw cotton supply and oil price-dependent synthetic fi bre costs.

CRAiLAR® is a patented process that treats bast fi bre stock such as fl ax and hemp to produce textile-grade fi bres so comfortable and fi ne that they can be turned into yarn suitable for hosiery, denim, knitwear and home furnishings.

Since 2009, the patent owner, Canada’s Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc (NAT), has teamed with Hanesbrands Inc and the US Department of Agriculture in a research project to cultivate and assess fl ax strains that it can use as

raw material. Spinning trials show that existing cotton spinning machinery can spin CRAiLAR-treated fl ax.

In March this year, NAT inked a ten-year supply agreement with Hanesbrands Inc that will commercialise its proprietary fi bres and introduce it to the mass market.

“This agreement is a strong validation of our technology and a demonstration of its ability to perform within the Hanesbrands family,” said Ken Barker, CEO of NAT.

The conversion process uses a 100%-organic, patented enzyme wash. The new fi bre is soft like cotton, with similar performance traits and comfortable for year-round wear. However, it shrinks less than cotton, wicks moisture better, and requires less chemicals to be dyed to the same colour levels as cotton.

Eco-conscious buyers should note that the new technology uses raw materials that can be sourced with far less environmental impact compared with, say, cotton, silk, acrylic or polyester. In many places, raw fl ax

• China is Asia’s biggest grower of hemp and fl ax, followed by South Korea and India.

• In January, US cotton price hit a 140-year high of US$1.6789 a pound for near-term futures.

• Current price of CRAiLAR is about US$0.90 a pound.

New bast-fi bre blend off ers hedge against fl uctuating textiles prices

Combines environmentally-preferable raw materials and clean enzyme process

NAT CEO Ken Barker holding raw bast fi bre in one hand and CRAiLAR yarn in the other, with a fi nished knit garment on display

(transformer type) have been snapped up by the Selangor Industrial Corpo-ration. The 200W and 500W models, both transformer and transformerless types, are also spoken for. However, the 1.2kW, 2kW and 3.4kW trans-formersless type, and higher wattage models like the 5kW, 10kW and 15kW models are still available.

“I am often asked why Malaysia should want to create its own inverters when there are many sold off-the-shelf. The ultimate goal is to achieve a positive learning curve for the growth of technical

knowledge,” Nasrudin said.Mimi has an effi ciency range of

87% to 94%. Transformer models are slightly less effi cient compared to transformerless models. Transform-ers, however, perform an important function in a PV system by separating the grid facility from the PV facil-ity, thus providing a safety feature.

Nasrudin foresees a good de-mand for Malaysian-made PV invert-ers as Malaysia’s Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) that is scheduled to kick off mid-year offers incentives for the use of Malaysia-manufactured or assembled

solar PV modules and inverters.Mimi costs about RM3,000

(US$990) per kW and is said to be within market range. UMPEDAC works with a testing centre in Vienna, Austria to ensure inter-national standards are met.

UMPEDAC is also working on the third generation multi-string models. It was recognised as one of Malaysia’s eight centres of ex-cellence in research last year, the only one in engineering.

Contact nasrudin@um.edu.my or visit www.umpedac.um.edu.my

fi bres are an abundant by-product of fl ax plants grown for linseed oil, while hemp thrives in almost any part of the world with little need of chemical fertilisers or pest control.

Thanks to its ability to enhance the performance characteristics of natural bast fi bres, CRAiLAR is anticipated to gain adoption and use in textile, industrial, energy, medical and composite material applications.

•

Programme (SREP), only about ten such projects have been launched.

Sumitomo’s proposed business model is for power generation within the mill to overcome the logistics problem, the plant would use empty fruit branches (EFB), fi bre

and occasionally palm kernel shell as its feedstock. The last can be used during the early months of the year, when the

and the consistent supply of biomass as feedstock.

There are also other key challeng-es like the fact that there are cheaper and more readily available sources of fuel.

Gomes proposes an integrated biomass complex, which incorporates plantation, mill and the effi cient use of biomass as a source of energy and with fi bre as the building block for other value-added products.

However, he emphasises the need for a systematic programme of replant-ing older plantations to ensure they re-main at peak productivity. The exhaus-tion of soil may occur if no allocation is made for a certain amount of biomass to “go back to the soil” as compost.

He says it is crucial to strike a balance between the commercial potential of value-added products and maintaining the productive life of the plantations.

If more biomass power plants are built, they could become a series of independent power producers with net zero emissions that will export power to the national grid.

Malaysia’s biggest oil palm operator, Felda Global Group, produces three million tonnes of empty fruit bunches (EFB) a year. That is about 15% of the “waste” generated by the country’s palm oil production.

The government-linked corpora-tion’s March announcement of a joint venture with national utility company Tenaga Nasional Berhad to set up a RM120 million power plant that uses EFB as feedstock has industry watch-ers sitting up.

What is interesting is that the plant – which will use 350,000 tonnes of EFB generated by seven mills in Jengka, Pahang – is just the tip of the iceberg. According to news reports, Felda intends to use up all its EFB in some 70 projects that have kicked off across the country, including compost-ing and pellet production. They want to do this by 2013.

Felda is not alone in harnessing biomass, a renewable energy source. There are currently 36 palm oil mills nationwide that have biogas power plants, with 38 more under construc-tion, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Board.

They are part of a bigger plan for the Palm Oil National Key Economic Area (NKEA) to contribute RM178 bil-lion to Gross National Income by 2020,

opportunities

Money from oil palm wasteGovernment-linked Felda takes lead in biomass plants

Private mills mull over key challenges

By Jason Tan

Business model: Power generation as revenue earner

Lennard Gomes: Set up integrated processing complexes for effi cient use of oil palm waste

Hiroyuki Sugano of Sumi-tomo Heavy Industries says the introduction of Malaysian feed-in power tariff s scheduled to be implemented mid this year will make power gen-eration a potential stable revenue earner.

This is provided the power-generation technology employed is proven and stable. He notes that under Malaysia’s Small Renewable Energy

creating an additional 41,000 jobs, of which 40% is targeted to comprise highly-skilled professionals.

However, for the owners of private mills, the main concern about investing in biomass plants is fi nancial viability.

The key question, says Dr Lennard Gomes, business development man-ager of Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) Sabah, is: how does one com-mercialise the so-called waste that is the by-product of palm oil production?

The oil palm consists of just 10% oil and 90% biomass. The latter would include fronds, trunks, mesocarp fi bre, palm oil manufacturing effl uent (POME), EFB, palm kernel shell (PKS) and palm kernel cake (PKC). From these may be derived products such as animal feed, fertiliser, pulp and paper (currently under research) and, of course, fuel.

Gomes says at the current level of effi ciency (25% for a 1MW plant), biomass power plants would only be fi nancially viable if certifi ed under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) or as part of a carbon-trading scheme. At current levels of technology, bio-mass products are still a lower source of potential energy than coal.

There are two other problems: how to move biomass products over long distances without them degrading

planting schedule would mean less EFB, and fi bre can be counted on as feed-stock.

Sugano claims a 60-tonne-per-hour mill can generate 10MW, with 8MW being exported to the national grid. He says such a project is viable even at the current tariff of 21 sen per kW/hour, with investment being recovered within nine years.

A 25-tonne boiler can use EFB or biogas. The total investment for such a project is estimated at US$30 million.

•

Cyberjaya builds on its cool solutionsMalaysia’s fi rst district cooling system provider invests in second plant

Company to explore opportunities worldwide

By Stephen Ng

A growing demand for district cool-ing has prompted Malaysia’s pioneer in the fi eld, Cyberview Sdn Bhd, to build on the successful implementation of its fi rst cooling plant a decade ago.

Cyberview managing director Hafi dz Hashim said a total of RM100 million was invested into District Cooling Plant 1 (DCP1) in the past ten years. “Another RM65 million will be invested to further expand DCP1 and to build a second plant,” he says, adding that this will be done by middle of the year.

staff, along with other common operating expenditures.

Secondly, the concept boosts energy effi ciency besides reducing car-bon emission substantially. “Because the district cooling system (DCS) fully utilises off-peak grid capacity, using water that is chilled throughout the night to be gradually released during the day whenever cooling is required, we are able to boost energy effi ciency,” he explains, adding that for every one kilowatt of electricity generated, a total of 1.05kg of carbon is emitted.

DCS also eliminates the hassle of maintaining the cooling towers and chill-ers against problems such as the accu-

mulation of calcium-magnesium scales and algae growth in open systems.

“Besides, we are able to provide cooling services 24 hours seven days a week, with our level-of-service key performance index set at 99.9%,” says Hafi dz.

He says the DCS is more effi cient and cost-effective because of a shared central network. “Air-conditioning accounts for as much as 70% of the energy consumption for a typical build-ing,” he says. A study by Cyberview showed the use of a DCS improves the economics of the building owner by about 20% compared to conventional systems.

“It is like paying for electricity or water tariffs based on usage versus each building owner having to generate his own electricity supply,” he says.

Hafi dz says DCS can be applied in various locations from entire business districts to individual institutional set-tings such as university campuses. The company is now looking for partners and clients, especially developers of industrial and commercial districts.

“We are ready to explore new opportunities both locally and world-wide,” he adds.

Currently DCP1, which covers two hectares, has a capacity of 13,000 refrigerant tonnes (RTs). DCP2 will boost capacity by another 15,000 RTs. The company has a planned capacity for 100,000 RTs by 2020 to service the whole of Cyberjaya.

Cyberview’s 100%-owned subsid-iary Pendinginan Megajana Sdn Bhd now provides centralised cooling ser-vices to 16 customers, covering more than 30 buildings. The new capacity can serve another seven buildings.

Advantages of going greenCyberview, a government-linked com-pany, has driven green purchasing for seven years. Hafi dz says more building owners are realising the advantages of central district cooling.

Firstly, there is the substantial savings of upfront capital expenditure (CAPEX) of at least 80%. There are also savings on space and maintenance

How the Cyberjaya DCS works

The Cyberjaya District Cooling System works in much the same way as any other public utilities. Clients pay cooling tariff s as they would pay other utility bills; they are charged on per use basis at 12.8 sen per kilowatt refrigerant.

The plant generates chilled water to cool down offi ces within the entire integrated township of Cyberjaya, which has a population of 41,000 and some 500 companies. The township’s total area is 2,800 hectares, of which 40% has been earmarked for commercial zones.

Currently, there are 20km of insulated stainless steel pipes running underground throughout the entire township, carrying chilled water to buildings.

Cyberview is the fi rst township in Malaysia to have implemented the DCS successfully. Most other high-density commercial areas (such as KLCC and Solaris Dutamas) use centralised cooling systems for a cluster of buildings.

Cyberview organises a monthly public business networking and forum. Those who wish to attend can contact them at +60 3-83156117.

Technology partners:Cooling tower: Truwater Cooling Tower Sdn Bhd Chiller: Carrier Malaysia Sdn BhdPumps: Ebara Pumps Malaysia Sdn BhdTransformers: ABLECON Engineering Sdn Bhd (Schneider)Switch gears: ABLECON Engineering Sdn Bhd (Schneider)

Financiers: CIMB, Government of Malaysia

Customers include:HP, Shell, Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences, DHL, Emerio, Ericsson, MEASAT, Astro

Charges:Tariff s: RM0.128 per kWh refrigerant Capacity charge: RM21.50 per kW refrigerant Meter charge: RM50 per monthRefrigerant used:Hydrofl uorocarbon (HFC 134A)

Hafi dzHashim

• • • •

Looking

Singapore brings us its fi rst green hospital, the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, a tribute to holistic healing.

Malaysia showcases four projects – a condominium, a hotel and offi ce development, an offi ce tower, and a residential landed property – in its fi rst Green Tour staged by a cohort of young developers.

In Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the largest spherical building in the world – the Technosphere – is slowly taking shape, taking Planet Earth as its muse.

beyondcostArchitects

often fi nd it a challenge to convince property developers to go green and, thereby, future proof their investments.

> Cover stories from pages 18 to 33

For those who have made it past the boardroom, however, the end result can sometimes be awe-inspiring and even great for business. This cover series pays tribute to those who have been bold in breaking new ground, as in the case of the Pearl River Tower (right).

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> Story on page 28

Wind turbines provide 4% of building’s energy

Solar panels in the building’s skin power automated window blinds to reduce glare and heat

Building skin includes air gaps that trap heat which is harvested in heat exchangers

Air-conditioning system is 80% smaller than for a conventional building of its size

Rainwater collection system, combined with solar panels, provides warm water to building

World’s greenest skyscraper: Pearl River Tower, Guangzhou, China

,

•

Despite the strong global push for sustainability in our built environment today, the reality is that architects rarely get a green brief from project owners. Conditioned to create value for shareholders, many developers cannot, and often will not, see beyond cost and payback period.

Although prices of big-ticket items like solar photovoltaics have plummet-ed in recent years, going green – and meeting rigorous certifi cation require-ments – does increase the develop-ment budget. Industry circles variously quote fi gures of between 3% and 7% of total cost to achieve a Green Mark Gold or Platinum certifi cate, for instance.

“It’s still a matter of cost. (Clients) still equate everything to returns on investment,” says Malay-sian architect Serina Hijjas, director of Hijjas Kasturi Associates, and a fi erce advocate of energy-effi cient buildings who had helped in the creation of Malaysia’s industry-led Green Building Index (GBI).

Peter Brannan, managing director (Asia & Middle East) of Hongkong-based Arquitectronica,

Architects make a case for greenRating tools need to spell out tangible benefi ts to green building dwellers

Green regulations may be more eff ective than incentives

By David Lee & Ann Teoh

Peter Brannan

Serina Hijjas

concurs. “Clients don’t buy sustainability if they don’t make money. Most of the time, we have to push it.”

The problem is that when the talk gets stuck on cost per se, the sustainabil-ity agenda grinds to a halt. Developers get hard-nosed about ROI, and the only way

“Clients don’t buy sustainability if they don’t make

money. Most of the time, we

have to push it.”

“It’s still a matter of cost. (Clients)

still equate everything

to ROI.”

Tota

l num

bers

of g

reen

bui

ldin

gs

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Number of green buildings certifi ed or under evaluation for green certifi cation (Asia Pacifi c) 2010

h KSouth Korea AustrAustralia aSingapore g KongHong Kong JapaJapan New Zealand Malaysia Indonesia

Certifi ed green building

Building under evaluation for certifi cation

Source: Frost & Sullivan

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to turn them around is a solid case for making money from investing in green features.

Brannan cites the case of the Philippines’ largest mall project, North Edsa, where its SkyGarden, a green roof over what was supposed to be just an open-air car park, is now a hit with the locals, even attracting wedding couples on their photo shoot. The roof garden was not in the original plans as project owner SM Prime Holdings was cost-conscious. However, the mall owner was persuaded by Brannan’s cost-savings argument of lower elec-tricity consumption and longer-lasting waterproofi ng. With the addition of soil and grass atop concrete, the roof garden became such a popular rendez-vous for the people that it is now open 24 hours, and creates enough traffi c to keep businesses going. Electric-ity consumption has also reduced signifi cantly because of the roof’s heat absorption effects.

Sometimes, however, architects do get lucky, as in the case of the fabulous Taikoo Hui project in Guang-zhou, China, wherein the owners issued a green mandate.

When one considers that build-ings are widely estimated to account for over 40% of energy consumption worldwide and 15% of global man-made greenhouse gas (GHG) emis-sions, the world needs more people like the owners of Taikoo Hui or the Singapore government, which has introduced a roadmap for mandatory compliance to the Green Mark.

But why, indeed, is the green building not a mainstream agenda today, despite the energy crises and the strong public buy-in on climate change mitigation efforts worldwide?

Prashant Kapoor, senior industry specialist on green buildings, Inter-national Finance Corporation, USA, says buildings offer mankind the single largest global opportunity to make deep emission cuts at low, no or even negative cost.

He says green buildings are not prevalent today because there is a “cycle of blame” involving the build-ers, developers and investors. “No-body wants to take responsibility for

Green buildings market: Historical developments of councils and associations

losses (that might be incurred). This is not an easy nut to crack.”

“Occupiers will say they would like to have an energy-effi cient build-ing but there aren’t any. Builders will say they can build energy-effi cient buildings but developers do not ask for them. Developers then say they would ask for them but investors won’t pay. Investors say they would fund energy-effi cient buildings but there is no demand for them.”

Prashant says the market failure is due, among other things, to misalign-ment of incentives between the provid-ers of buildings and the occupants of buildings. Government policies may also unwittingly discourage greater energy effi ciencies with low energy pricing.

He says there is also diffi culty ac-cessing fi nancing for energy effi ciency (EE) upgrades due to low awareness of EE among banks, and the fact that there are very few energy service com-panies (ESCOs) with fi nancial products. In such a situation, he says, “sticks work better than carrots.”

Prashant says there is a need to look beyond rating tools, as they are not clear on what the tangible benefi ts are to the people who live in green buildings. “You might get a green building and not be sure how much energy you actually save.”

Prashant says developers should know that bankers like clarity on what they are getting into, like how going green will add value to a building.

Yet, many forget that European countries are greener today because they readily invested 10 to 20 years ago. Buildings stay up for decades. To make any building future-proof, and for

Prashant Kapoor 2000

2001

2002

2003

2005

2008

2009

Korean Green Building Council (KGBC) was established and Green Building Certifi cation System (GBCS) was proposed.

Japan’s- comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environment Effi ciency (CASBEE) was introduced.

Green Building Council Australia (GBCA), a leading non-government organisation and a member of World Green Building Council (WGBC), was formed. It introduced the Green Star rating system for green buildings.

Professional Green Building Council was formed in Hong Kong with comprehensive assessment tool BEAM.

Building Construction Authority initiated Green Mark rating system in Singapore.GBC New Zealand was established with a proposal of Green Star assessment tool.

GBC Indonesia was formed and became a member of WGBC. It designed Greenship rating tool for green buildings.

GB Index Malaysia was founded and Green Index assessment tool for green buildings was designed.

Source: Frost & Sullivan

The need to look beyond rating tools:

“You might get a green building and

not be sure how much energy you

actually save.”

•

occupiers to be able to take advan-tage of the lower costs of being green tomorrow, the building must be built green today.

Poul E Kristensen, managing director of IEN Consultants, Malaysia, has done much work on EE in South-east Asia, including Kuala Lumpur In-ternational Airport, the greenest airport in Asia. He puts it more passionately: “Those who do not build green are building obsolete.”

He says owners of green build-ings attract customers who value such efforts and they tend to regard those buildings without green certifi cation as “grade B”.

It is also shown, he says, that the atmosphere in green buildings tends to increase staff productivity. As human capital contributes 90% of a building’s

Poul Kristensen

World’s greenest skyscraper

operational expenditure, it makes per-fect sense to have happier workers and fewer people on medical leave.

Those quoted in this article were speakers in the Green Buildings Asia 2011 confer-ence held in Singapore from February 23rd–24th. It was organised by IBC Asia.

Where green buildings make immediate sense

Building types• 24-hour buildings: hospitals,

hotels, call centres and airports• Owner-occupied buildings:

hospitals, hotels, and schools• Brand-sensitive clients: supermarkets

and housing developers

Countries• Countries with high energy tariff s:

Caribbean, West Africa and the Philippines• Countries where CO² from

electricity generation is high: South Africa, Indonesia, China, India, Middle East and North Africa

Source: Prashant Kapoor, International Finance Corporation

“Those who do not build green

are building obsolete”

Most innovative element: The curvilinear form of the building funnels wind to turbines integrated into the building to generate electricity. This also helps to relieve the structural burden imposed by strong winds.

Other elements that make it a zero-energy building:

• Rainwater collection system which uses solar energy to provide hot water for the building.

• Photovoltaic panels on the glass skin of the building to absorb the sun’s energy

• Internally-ventilated high-performance double skin facade with automatic blinds is used for the north and south orientations

• Triple-glazed facade with external shades and automatic blinds within the glazing cavity is used for the east and west orientations

• Largest radiant-cooled offi ce building in the world, using raised fl oor ventilation, heat sinks and vertical vents

Pearl River Tower: Green innovations at a glance

China may be slow off the starting block in the green building “event” but once it gets into stride, it breaks away from the fi eld.

Take the case of the nearly-com-pleted Pearl River Tower in Guang-zhou, designed and engineered by

Skidmore, Owings, Merrill LLP (SOM) for CNTC Guangdong Tobacco Corp.

The 71-storey tower is uniquely sculpted, with two “mouths” in its facade to swallow healthy gusts at the Pearl River Delta, channeling wind power to run turbines that generate electricity for the 2.3-million sq ft build-ing.

Other features that go into build-ing this energy-effi cient skyscraper: solar panels, double skin curtain walls, chilled ceiling systems, under-fl oor ventilation and daylight harvesting.

The superstructure is up and the building’s skin is almost completed. Constructed by Shanghai Construc-tion Group, the tower will be commis-sioned soon.

According to Frost & Sullivan, China’s Ministry of Construction esti-mated in 2007 that only 5% of existing large public buildings had adopted energy effi ciency measures.

The total cost of retrofi tting exist-ing buildings with energy-saving sys-tems is estimated to be US$193 billion, with target completion by 2020. China’s domestic green building market was estimated to be worth US$213 billion in 2010.

,

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Hospitals use two and a half times more energy than offi ce buildings. In the United States, they are second only to fast-food restaurants as energy guzzlers in the buildings sector. Today, however, hospitals are using heat recovery, daylighting, and temperature and air control to reduce their carbon footprint.

In Asia, Singapore’s newest and fi rst green hospital, the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH), showcases how sustainability can be built into hospital

design. Creativity in passive build-ing design coupled with a few active measures resulted in it being 27% more energy effi cient than conven-tional hospitals. KTPH is expected to have an Energy Effi ciency Index (EEI) of 220kWh/m²/year.

Principal architect Jerry Ong Chin Po of CPG Consultants, who spoke at the Green Buildings Asia Conference in Singapore recently, says the 550-bed district general hospital was designed be an energy-effi cient, hassle-free hospital that enhances patient care and staff effi ciency. It is also a hospital in a garden, and a garden in a hospital.

The Platinum Green Mark Award-winning complex sits beside a pond and comprises four blocks (specialist outpatient clinics, podium for treat-ment and diagnostics, private ward tower and subsidised ward tower) with a fl oor area of 105,000m².

Adorned with a garden courtyard, terraced gardens, and even a com-munity garden, and planter boxes at the wards, it is little wonder that KTPH clinched the top Skyrise Greenery Award 2010 by the Singapore National Parks Board.

“The garden courtyard is the heart of the hospital. One can see the whole hospital from the courtyard and

Khoo Teck Puat Hospitalheals the earthSingapore’s fi rst green hospital is 27% more energy-effi cient

Building also designed to enhance patient care and staff effi ciency

By Ann Teoh

Project owner: Ministry of Health, SingaporeHospital operator: Alexandra HealthProject manager: PM LinkArchitect: CPG Consultants in collaboration with RMJMBuilding performance consultants: Total Building Performance TeamM&E consultant, C&S consultant andquantity surveyor: CPG ConsultantsLandscape: Peridian Asia Pte LtdMain contractor: Hyundai Engineering & Construction

The angled fi xed screens modulate direct sunlight and glare while still maximising the view from the air-conditioned wards

Jerry Ong

KTP Hospital was designed to be a garden in a hospital, and a hospital in a garden

Facade

Project info

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Note the glass encasement surrounded by plants that brings light into the basement car park below, reducing the need for lighting during the day

Operable jalousies allows in light and air, and can be controlled by the occupants, while the monsoon louvres below them are fi xed, allowing ventilation even when all the jalousies are closed

Light shelves cut glare and bring light deeper into the building

Planter boxes bring the garden to the patients

Subsidised ward

Garden courtyard

Car park

Being green pays off with multiple savings and a more comfortable stay for patients. The hospital saves 8.6 million kWh of energy or S$1.54 million per year.

•

enjoy the view of the Yishun Pond. This also brings light and greenery into the basement,” says Ong, who believes the gardens both cool the hospital and aid in patients’ recovery.

Passive strategiesWhile private wards are air-condi-tioned, the subsidised wards are naturally ventilated. Extensive shading studies were carried out on how to keep out glare and heat.

Ong says specially-designed sun-shades on the east and west facades, and glazing and thermal insulation for an opaque facade with low U-value have resulted in KPTH enjoying 23.6% less heat gain from its facades. Its Envelope Thermal Transfer Value (ETTV) is only 38.2W/m2K compared to current standards of 50W/m2K. The designs translate to an annual savings of S$63,951 (US$50,400).

To optimise natural ventilation in the subsidised wards – key to patient comfort – Ong looked at building ori-entation, wing walls, operable jalousies

window to wall ratio. Together the ef-fect is a 30% cut in lighting needs.

Active strategiesPlaced strategically, T5 fl uorescent lamps with electronic ballasts, PLC downlights and task lighting produce both energy savings and a calming and cheerful environment. Motion sensors are installed in transient use areas like toilets, staircase cores and infrequent-ly-used corridors, achieving savings of 10%. Energy consumption is further optimised by energy-effi cient lifts with sleep mode and VVVF motor drive (10% savings) and escalators with step sensors (30% savings).

Careful sizing and choice of air-conditioning plant room equipment have resulted in energy savings on the chiller (18%), chilled water pump (33%), total plant room (19%) and cooling tower (29%). Fan coil units (instead of diffusers) allow units to be switched off when rooms are vacant.

Low-VOC paints and adhesives are used indoors, UVC treatment elimi-nates airborne bacteria and viruses, and carbon dioxide and carbon monox-ide sensors monitor air quality.

Waste is minimised at source and a pneumatic waste conveyance system is used to cut the risk of contamination. A composting machine processes food waste into fertilisers.

KTPH uses water fi xtures and fi ttings with Water Effi ciency Labelling System (WEL) ratings of “Very Good” and “Excellent”. Estimated savings is 39.8% against non-rated fi xtures.

The nearby Yishun Pond also serves as a catchment for rainwater that is subsequently used to irrigate the hospital gardens. For its cooling tow-ers, the hospital uses AHU condensates and NEWater (treated wastewater).

Solar thermal systems supply the 21,000 litres of hot water used daily, bringing annual savings of S$60,000 in electricity. Meanwhile, the 130kWp solar photovoltaic systems generate 150,000kWh of energy a year.

(windows) and monsoon louvres. By orientating the building to

catch the north and south-east winds, KTPH enjoys a wind speed of at least 0.6m/s while a wing wall on the facade reduces the need for fans by 60%. Op-erable modular jalousie windows are angled for the best airfl ow and least rain splashing, tinted grey glass re-duces glare and nearby planter boxes bring the gardens to the patients.

Ong says the private wards are also fi tted with ceiling fans, an option for natural ventilation often preferred by elderly patients. When the windows open, the air conditioner automatically switches off.

These passive devices were tested using computational fl uid dynamics simulation at the design stage and verifi cation was done using wind tun-nel study.

In the subsidised wards, light shelves reduce glare, and bring sun light deeper into the interior. Glazing allows light in minus the heat. This is further complemented with an optimal

Twilight view of KTP Hospital from Yishun Pond, which acts as a rainwater collection tank for the hospital. Pond water is used to irrigate the hospital's gardens and terraces

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Trendsetters on showYoung Malaysian developers promote sustainability

Green elements becoming premium property standards

By Ann Teoh

Green building tours are still a novelty in South-east Asia, but the recent show-and-tell by four trendsetting Kuala Lumpur property developers may soon change that. Four busloads of participants – and subsequent offers by other developers to host such tours – indicate green tidings.

The Kuala Lumpur Green Tour was organised by REHDA Youth, the year-old youth wing of the Malaysian Real Estate Housing Developers’ Asso-ciation (REHDA). It was sponsored by AkzoNobel and attended by profession-als from building materials suppliers to architectural fi rms, developers, real estate houses and the Singaporean Building and Construction Authority (BCA).

Green building ratings are volun-tary in Malaysia, unlike in Singapore, where all new buildings must comply with the island republic’s Green Mark. Indonesia has just completed version 1 of its rating tools, while Thailand uses the US-based LEED on a voluntary basis.

The success of the green tour in-spires industry confi dence and buy-in on going green. Technical details given on tour were lapped up by note-taking participants eager to build knowledge on trends.

REHDA president Datuk Seri Michael Yam had mooted the idea of a youth wing as a platform for the association’s younger members to share their vision for the industry. So far, instincts appear on target with the group’s focus on environmentally-sound building practices.

Green building practices may soon become standard premium prop-erty features. All four projects on show employ rainwater harvesting while low-VOC paints and Low-E glass are used in all three high-rise properties. Motion-activation and LED fi xtures

help keep lighting costs down in the mixed-use and residential buildings.

Building orientation, typically on a north-south axis, facilitates cross ventilation and reduces cooling costs. Both Ken Bangsar and GTower employ saline chlorination for swimming pools and harness heat from air condition-ing compressors to warm water for use elsewhere.

Ken Bangsar Serviced Residences, Kuala Lumpur was an abandoned tower before Ken Holdings took it over in 2006. It is the fi rst building outside of Singapore to receive the Green Mark GoldPLUS Award for High Rise Residential Development (July 2009). Last year, it received Malaysia’s Green Building Index Gold Award.

Its pride is its own CHEEL system whereby condensate from air conditioners is used in the evaporative feature wall at the lobby, cooling the air that comes through. All apartments are equipped with multi-split inverter air-conditioners that use only one compressor for multiple indoor units, providing up to 60% energy savings.

Other green measures include motion-activated lighting in stairwells, the Muslim prayer and mailbox rooms; energy-effi cient fi xtures in the residences; and mood lighting systems in the penthouses.

The building’s high speed and VVVF-rated lifts are 30% more effi cient, saving energy during off -peak hours.

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Ken Bangsar Serviced Residences

Ken Bangsar uses motion sensors in stairwells, refuse chambers, Muslim prayer room and mail box rooms to reduce electricity usage

The feature wall at Ken Bangsar lobby uses air-conditioner condensate to cool down the lobby. A wind tunnel nearby helps ventilate the place

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GTower Sunway Challis Damansara

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For GTower, site and project management are as important as the features built in

GTower uses green-certifi ed carpets: the base of this carpet is made of old carpeting material

GTower is Malaysia’s fi rst Green Mark Gold mixed development building, certi-fi ed as such on April 2010. The Grade A++ commercial building, made up of offi ces, a hotel and a club, uses an intel-ligent building management system.

From the design stage, GTower sourced for sustainable products, choosing green certifi ed suppliers.

To monitor indoor air qual-ity, CO² sensors are installed at AHUs, and CO sensors in car parks.

Low-VOC paints and wallpaper are used. Heat recovered from chill-ers provide hot water for hotel rooms. Swimming pools use salt chlorinators. The Green Bar showcases designs using recyclable and recycled elements.

Operations are equally green. Composting is done, and soaps made from waste oils. GTower uses its own bioenzyme cleaners and biodegradable cleaning agents. Recycling and recycled paper are norms. Estimated CO² reduc-tion per year is 3.5 million kg from 7.3 million kWh of electricity saved.

Water effi ciency is achieved with water-effi cient fi ttings, condensate recy-cling and a green roof irrigation system.

Sunway Challis comes with large windows and deep overhangs for shade. The north-south orientation is key to controlling heat gain.

The back lanes of Sunway Challis are refreshingly green

Making cleaning enzymes from fruit peel as part of a culture of recycling

Turning garden waste into compost

Sunway Challis Damansara is made up of 102 units of one-and-a-half-storey townhouses with landscaped parks, water features and meandering walkways and porticos.

This Green Mark certifi cate holder had many passive features built in at the design stage, including building orientation, large windows with shadings and deep overhangs, a glass roof for natural daylight, cross ventilation, a ventilative roof, cavity west-facing walls, water-effi cient taps and lots of greenery. Active features include inverter air conditioners, energy-saving lights and solar water heaters, with a green provision of 3.45 or 69% of its area.

The green cost of Challis was RM422,000 or 1.6% of the construction cost. Energy savings amount to 49,000kWh or RM14,500 per year for the common areas and RM400 per residential unit per year. Water savings amount to 108m3 or RM216 per year for the common areas, and 96m3 or RM120 per unit for residences.

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1 First Avenue is a GBI Gold Award offi ce building. The north-south orientation of the main facade helps keep it cool. Service areas like toilets, M&E rooms, staircases and terraces or balconies are located at the warmer eastern and western ends of the building where landscaped balconies and vertical gardens provide sun relief.

Plants are indigenous to cut down on water, pesticide and fertiliser use.

Aerated bricks on the perimeter walls provide four times better insulation than normal bricks. Low-E glass reduces solar heat and cuts heat gain by up to 50% (or 79% with sun shades). The grassed roof with a helipad also helps in heat insulation.

Rainwater harvesting and use saves 30% on tap water and sewage is converted via a biodigestion process, eliminating the need to send it to city sewers.

The towers chilled water storage air-conditioning system uses off -peak electricity, reducing peak demand by 35%. This is topped with high-effi ciency chillers and systems with variable speeds for pump sets, cooling towers and air handling units.

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1 First Avenue

Who’s who1 First Avenue has deep balconies with generous landscape on every fl oor. The building envelope uses a combination of Low-e glass, ceramic fritted glass, tinted glass and walls with granite-look spraytile from Suzuka

Developer cum contractor: Ken Property Sdn BhdPartners:• Air-conditioning: Kejuruteraan Jaya Tech Sdn Bhd

(Daikin, Trox Technik)• Building envelope: Facade Treatment Engineering

Sdn Bhd (Ajiya)• Water effi ciency:

WC: W.atelier Sdn Bhd (TOTO)Fittings: GC Building Technologies (M) Sdn Bhd (Dorn Bracht, Villeroy & Boch, Hoesch) Hot water systems: Hau Sing Sdn Bhd (Aumada)

• Energy effi ciency: Kejuruteraan Elektrik Sri Megah Sdn Bhd Wong Lighting Sdn Bhd A&S Building Tech Sdn Bhd (Clipsal, Schneider Electric)

• Energy-effi cient lifts and security controls: Ryoden (M) Sdn Bhd, Kaba Jaya Security Sdn Bhd

• Sustainable construction & management: Citatah AMS Marble Sdn BhdTrisonsteel Works Sdn Bhd (Wess)SKK (low-VOC paints)WENGE (veneer)Yew Huat (M) Machine Joinery Sdn Bhd

Ken Bangsar Serviced Residences

GTower Offi ce and Hotel

Sunway Challis Damansara

1 First Avenue

Developer: GTower Sdn BhdConsultants:• Architect/facilitator: BEP Akitek Sdn Bhd

The Architectural Network Sdn Bhd• C&S engineering: TY Lin International Sdn Bhd• M&E engineering: Jurutera Perunding Valdun

Sdn Bhd• Landscape: Artisat Landscape Sdn Bhd

Walrus Design Sdn Bhd• Interior designer: Hotel & main lobby: Axis Network Sdn Bhd Goldis offi ce: PDI Design & Associates Sdn Bhd Food court: RDM Design Sdn Bhd Sky bar & restaurant: Eco ID Pte Ltd

Developer: Sunway City Bhd (ISO 14401)Business associates (with ISO 24401):• SA Architects Sdn Bhd• Sunway Construction Bhd• Awangsa Bina Sdn Bhd• JUBM Sdn Bhd

Developer: Bandar Utama City Corporation Sdn BhdConsultants:• Architect/facilitator: CT Architect• C&S engineering: Meinhardt (M) Sdn Bhd• M&E engineering: EAB Consulting Engineers Sdn Bhd• Landscape: Morphosis Design

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Super orb that lives, breathes and thinksDubai’s Technosphere to be the world’s largest spherical building

Technology, architecture and greens create self-breathing environment

When it comes to Cybertecture, think-ing out-of-the-box means more than just thinking beyond it. It could mean no box at all, as in the case of the spherical Technosphere in Dubai, which looks to our home planet Earth as the ultimate model of a sustainable habitat.

Technosphere, the globe-shaped winner of the CNBC Architectural Award Dubai 2009, was designed to be a super building that lives, breathes and thinks for and with the people that inhabit it. It will house offi ces, a hotel and an exhibition hall. While construc-tion is progressing slowly because of the economic crisis in Dubai, the base has been completed and work is now proceeding on the second fl oor.

“Cybertecture attempts to inno-vate green buildings with the philoso-phy that a green building is not just green or a building, but much more; it is a comprehensive device that carries new technologies and possibilities of a better life within the building for its in-habitants,” says James Law, chairman and chief cybertect of James Law Cy-bertecture International, Hong Kong, and also the designer of Technosphere.

“This requires the use of materials that go beyond the concrete, steel and glass, and into the new materials of the silicon chip, the electrons, the internet, and the intelligence of systems to be amalgamated seamlessly into the fabric of the building,” he says.

Law explains that the shape of Technosphere comes from three fac-tors – fi rst, purity of form; second, its impressive size; and third, the essential nature of a sphere, which, in Law’s own words, “alludes to the even small-est elements of our world, the atomic particles and molecules that bind our universe.” He adds, “The Techno-sphere is a symbol of how man has become technologist with the ability to create; building with science and tech-

nology at all scales for a better world.”Thus the Technosphere will use

technology and architecture to create a “self-breathing environment” as well as to generate electricity from the sun, supplementing its energy needs. An intelligently-distributed array of sky

gardens for the offi ces and hotel not only offers outdoor terraces for work and relaxation but also provides a passive solar shield from the sun while contributing oxygen sustainably. Recy-cling minimises the use and wastage of water in this vast building.

Awarded the CNBC Architectural Award Dubai, 2009 and World Architectural Award from 300 entries worldwide, Technosphere will be an iconic masterpiece for Dubai and the Techno Park

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James Law

Structure conceptThe principal structural system of the Technosphere comprises a spherical exterior diagrid structure, a podium base portal with perimeter raking columns, and other components including steel roof trusses at the top, reinforced concrete (RC) core and shear walls, beam/column frames at typical fl oors and transfer beam grillage at the fi fth fl oor. The internal structure is mainly of reinforced concrete with steel along the perimeter bays of typical fl oors. Podium fl oors are also of RC with pre-stressed construction for long span portions.

The exterior diagrid forms part of the stability frame and the load-taking system of the Technosphere. The curvature of the towers will generate lateral forces and deformation due to gravity loads. These forces, however, will be transmitted through the fl oor diaphragms to the lateral stability system comprising the RC cores and beam/column frames, as well as the exterior diagrid.

Facade conceptThe Technosphere mainly consists of two systems: a semi-unitised system at the typical hotel and offi ce (south/north wings) towers, and the point fi xing spider system at the atrium.

The hotel and offi ce area con-sists of high-performance laminated insulated glass units (IGU) using a combination of low-E, fritted and tinted features to achieve high energy saving and acoustic performance. Since some overhead glass are angled at more than 15°, the laminated glass also works as a safety glass with the PVB layer hold-ing broken pieces together in the event of breakage. Pre-glazing is done at the factory onto an alum framing and de-livered to site in a panel form, minimis-ing site work. The semi-unitised panel is then fi xed onto the main diagrid on site. A thermal break system is used to give better thermal performance and to meet local requirements from the Dubai Municipality Legal Affairs Department.

For the atrium, a spider system is used. Clear laminated glass with tint or a fritted pattern is held together by stainless steel spider of galvanised mild steel (GMS) and circular hollow section (CHS).

Standards and locationHigh performance glazing, energy-effi cient equipment and the use of re-gional materials are a few of the other methods employed to reach the LEED gold rating target.

To serve parking areas and drop-off/pick-up lay-bys in front of building core, there will be a one-way circulation internal road network consisting of inner and outer ring roads with widths of four- and two-traffi c lanes, respectively.

The development, located 50km west of Dubai and 100km east of Abu Dhabi, is close to two main transport corridors – Sheikh Zayed Road and Highway 311.

“The Technosphere sits on the axis of the new city plan of Tech-nopark, symbolically representing the genesis of the city. From this point, the city seems to grow. The Technosphere is awesome in its presence as the nucleus of the city,” says Law.

Project info

Client: Economic Zones WorldType: Mixed use developmentLocation: Jebel Ali, Dubai, UAEHeight: G+25 fl oorsTotal gross fl oor area: About 800,000 m²Target date of completion: 2013Architect: James Law Cybertecture InternationalStructural engineer: Ove Arup & PartnersProject manager: James Law Cybertecture InternationalAward: CNBC Commercial Property Awards – Architecture Award Dubai 2009

The golden egg inside the Technosphere is an auditorium for the hosting of conferences, galleries and exhibitions. The exterior surface is wrapped in LED screens

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Dr Nazily Mohd Noor is a man in a hurry although his easy demeanour and soft spoken nature may lull one into having a different perception of him.

This 46-year-old corporate man, who has quietly built himself a reputation as a turnaround specialist, was headhunted to be chief executive offi cer of Green Technology Corporation Malaysia. He took the job on January 17th, fresh from a year-long stint at the Malaysian institute of Management (MIM).

When he fi rst came into his offi ce, Nazily felt as though he was “working in a library”. Coming from a background where building shareholder value is a dynamic challenge, it was something of

a culture shock to be in a green building in Bangi, Selangor, where silence is golden. Green Tech Malaysia was once a research-based institution (Energy Research Centre), but has seen its role change.

With no less than the Prime Minister of Malaysia pushing the green agenda to generate economic growth, Nazily knows his key performance indicators well: generate revenue and unlock the green economic op-portunities with multiplier effects.

His immediate challenge is to transform the organisation, whose per-sonnel are made up mainly of scientist/academic types, into an entrepreneur-minded institution that embraces business and technology. “I would like Green Tech Malaysia to lead the green

revolution so that it becomes a focal point for green tech users,” he says.

How much he can achieve will depend on the degree of freedom that he gets as he has a board of directors to answer to. “The board must support the ideas that we want to carry out, as long as we are on the right track,” he says. Next on his list is to build smart partnerships. “I believe in partnerships,” he says. “We do not want to do everything by ourselves.”

So, what’s at the top of his mind?Among his immediate projects is

to create a training institute to create more “green collar” workers. Business matching is another, as that would kick-start economic activities. He encourages foreign companies wishing to tie up with local entrepreneurs to see him.

Nazily intends to put his money where his mouth is. “Maybe out of the three or four foreign direct investments that we bring in every year, we invest in one,” he says.

“It becomes a show-and-tell, an indication of the confi dence that we have in the technology. Also, once we have a stake in the small- and medium-sized enterprises, we have a say in developing them.”

Another big agenda is the Green Technology Financing Scheme, whereby Green Tech Malaysia funds

people

Turnaround expert heads Green Tech MalaysiaHe’s the new man at the helm of Malaysia’s Green Tech Corporation, a body set up to drive the country’s economic transformation through green investments. CEO Dr Nazily Mohd Noor tells Ann Teoh what he has up his sleeves.

• This Penangite holds an engineering degree and a PhD in Electronics Engineering

• Helped MIM make RM2.2 million profi t within the 11 months he was its CEO

• Has held CEO position for more than seven years managing international subsidiaries with sales in excess of RM200 million (US$66 million)

• Listed in Top 200 Bumiputera CEOs in Malaysia byBerita Publishing in 2005/6 for corporateturnaround

“I believe in partnerships. We don’t want to do

everything by ourselves.”

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(through banks) and monitors the growth of participating companies for 15 years. Under the scheme, RM1.5 billion worth of soft loans is offered to Malaysian companies. As of late February, only 15 companies that were issued green certifi cates by Green Tech Malaysia have received these loans. (The government bears 2% of the interest and guarantees 60% of the loan.)

The pace of disbursement of the GTFS loans is too slow for the govern-ment’s liking. After a year, only 10%

The chairman and managing director of the world’s third biggest wind turbine maker rose to prominence by combining vision with sheer pragmatism.

In 1994, Tulsi R Tanti was so frus-trated with routine power supply inter-ruptions to his family’s textile business in western India that he fi nally invested in two wind turbines of his own and took their factory off the unreliable lo-cal power grid.

The success of this initiative led him to found Suzlon Energy Ltd in 1995. The company thrived in India and grew by leaps and bounds to

of the total amount has been disbursed as most entrepreneurs cannot get past the fi nancier’s hurdle. Nazily wants to meet with bankers to clear the bottlenecks. He feels many of them do not understand green technology, and they don’t seek clarifi cation.

Another area with potential is developing green women entrepre-neurs. “Women are good paymasters; when they borrow, they pay up, they are punctual,” he says matter-of-factly.

With the sheer amount of green technology available today, what would

become the leading wind energy group in Asia. Today, Suzlon has operations in 32 countries on six continents, with research capabilities in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, India and the Netherlands.

The group’s performance in the last quarter of 2010 was reportedly disappointing but a series of projects it won recently will drive profi ts from 2012 onwards.

In this email interview, Tanti discusses factors that drive the wind energy market and his company’s focus on Asia in particular.

be the low-hanging fruits that Malaysia should harvest in the green revolution? “Green buildings,” Nazily said, adding that it was the easiest to understand and implement. Harnessing the sun’s energy is another. “We have the sun almost every day, although the cost (for solar photovoltaics) can still be a hurdle,” he said.

Nazily’s vision for Green Tech Malaysia is for it to be an international player, working with its partners or for-eign governments to rebuild war-torn countries, using green tools.

Under your leadership, the Suzlon Group now commands 12.3% global market share with revenues of over US$5 billion in fi nancial year 2008–09. Going forward, where do you see the big growth potential for your company? Specifi cally, where will you get your big contracts this year?

The world needs more power, and with the very real dangers from climate change, it is critical that we establish secure and sustainable sources of energy to develop the world. Wind is a key part of the solution to this energy puzzle. We see growing opportunities in emerging markets like India, China and Brazil, key developed markets, as well as the offshore sector where our subsidiary REPower Systems AG is the market leader.

India’s Wind Man looks to China Tulsi R Tanti of Indian global wind juggernaut Suzlon Energy Ltd is bullish on China’s role in the future of the wind market. He tells us why.

people

• Was born in Rajkot in Gujarat, Western India on February 2nd 1958

• Has four siblings: three brothers who worked with him at Suzlon, and one sister

• Is a qualifi ed mechanical engineer and a graduatein commerce

• Has served as chairman of the Supervisory Board at REPower Systems AG since June 21st 2007

• Suzlon was the name of Tanti’s family-owned textile company before he entered the windenergy business

“With the right policies and

frameworks in place, there is no reason

wind cannot compete with fossil fuels used in power generation.”

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Building alongside commercial suc-cess, you have set a goal of not just being a successful wind energy com-pany, but also a socially responsible enterprise with sustainable develop-ment as its core function. What’s your vision and achievements in this area?

We are not just a wind company, we are partners in helping utilities and corporations the world over become more energy sustainable. With over 15,000MW supplied the world over, we are very proud of our contribution to the global economy. Looking at our own footprint, we have made a major effort to become carbon neutral – and the evidence of this is our corporate headquarters Suzlon One Earth, certifi ed to the LEED Platinum standard as one of the greenest facilities of its kind anywhere in the world today.

It must be tremendously challenging to successfully compete with estab-lished players in the European wind industry and emerge as one of the leaders in the global wind industry. What are the advantages you enjoy by being an Indian company and hav-ing had a different entry point into the market?

Coming from India, and growing in a challenging environment, we have a tremendous capacity for innovation. Innovative business models, for example the concept-to-commissioning wind solutions, focus on technology and a commitment to customer centricity, giving us our competitive edge.

In renewable energy, the competition really is in bringing cost of produc-ing wind energy to be on par with conventional power sources. What’s your benchmark today and how much further can you drive cost down?

Comparing like to like, wind is already competitive with many conven-tional power sources. With the right policies and frameworks in place, there is no reason wind cannot compete with fossil fuels used in power generation, particularly when you take into consid-eration emissions and environmental impact. Looking to the future, our focus is to reduce the cost of energy from wind, using technology and in-novation throughout the value chain.

Do you plan to go for other kinds of renewable energy sources?

For now, we are focused solely on wind.

What’s the next big thing in the growth of the global wind industry in general, and for India, in particular?

Technology is improving all the time, which is why we as a group have about a thousand scientists and engi-neers focused on research and devel-opment. A key focus for the industry is storage technology.

Your commitment to social and eco-logical development, and your vocal advocacy of climate change mitiga-tion have been recognised through awards like “Champion of the Earth 2009” by the United Nations Environ-ment Program, “Hero of the Environ-ment” by TIME Magazine, and “En-trepreneur of the Year 2006” by Ernst & Young. What is the message that these awards send to the world about the future role of the wind industry?

I believe these awards and recog-nition are a barometer of the global rec-ognition of the threat of climate change and the very real need to change the way we look at energy. However, much more remains to be done; we are only at the start of the road to creating a truly sustainable energy future for the world. It is my passion and I will keep at this.

Your ambition is to become a top global manufacturer of wind tur-bines. With your present set up in China, how do you perceive the role of China and the Chinese market in realising this ambition?

China is the world’s largest wind market, and has a central role in shaping the growth of the wind sector. The Suzlon Group has a substantial presence in China, and our greatest strength is that Suzlon China is a Chinese entity – with a Chinese CEO and management, and a great China-made product designed specifi cally for local market conditions. But we

back this up with strong, broad global infrastructure which brings with it international experience, know-how, technology and research and development capabilities. This allows us to combine our strengths from developed and developing markets, providing the right technology at a competitive price. With the current market environment focused on lowering costs, this makes it possible for us to lower our costs while maintaining the quality of our products and services.

Aside from the fact that China is already the largest wind market, it is also the fastest growing market in the world. We are extremely optimistic about the further development of China’s wind energy market. The Chinese government leads the world in commitment to renewables. Nowhere else have such aggressive targets been set and, indeed, surpassed. China plans to have 15% non-fossil fuels in its primary energy mix by 2020, and a planned wind power capacity of 90GW by 2015 – far ahead of its global peers.

Where are the new growth areas for businesses like yours? Do you foresee South-east Asia embracing wind power? Or will their fi rst choice be solar?

Wind is today an established util-ity-scale energy source with hundreds of thousands of megawatts in operation around the world. Even in cost, wind is today nearly competitive with conven-tional power sources. Solar, however, despite its wide potential, is still a developing technology sometimes cost-ing over four times as much as wind. We fi rmly believe that for a secure and sustainable energy portfolio to become reality, all sources – wind, solar and others – will have to play a part.

Do you think world leaders are doing enough to drive the use of renewable energy? What do you want to see from them?

Today there is global recognition of the challenge before us; it is now time for action. We have to put short-term considerations aside and act with unity and a sense of urgency to shape tomorrow’s world for generations to come. I believe the will is there, now we need to fi nd a way.

“Aside from the fact that China is already the largest wind market, it is also the fastest growing market in the world.”

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editorials

Every once in a while, I’ll devote this column to a roundup of some of the coolest sustainability initiatives I’ve come across anywhere in the world. This is the fi rst instalment, featuring fi ve different ventures on fi ve different continents, and business models that include an architect working solo, a manufacturing corporation, a non-profi t, and a couple of small companies.

Hungary: Sustainable independence for wheelchair usersThink about the resources consumed by a standard wheelchair van: a huge vehicle with complicated, slow, hydrau-lic lifts, expensive in both money and materials to build, and a fuel guzzler. Kenguru of Hungary, which recently merged with Austin-based Community Cars Inc, has reinvented the whole thing as a one-person electric vehicle – tiny, secure, and empowering the wheelchair user to control his or her own transportation. The user rolls in up a ramp through a rear hatch facing the curb, fastens the chair, and then it’s off to work, play, or whatever. Visit their website at http://www.kenguru-cars.com

Australia: Timber recycler gives vin-tage wood a new lease of lifeThis company has designed its own tools and processes to salvage lumber from demolition projects in ways it claims provides much cleaner, more intact hardwood lumber than conven-tional demolition and salvage tech-niques. The recycled timber is often also prized for their unique patina. Learn more about Fremantle Timber Traders and their products at http://www.fremantletimbertraders.com.au/profi le.asp

Hong Kong: Gary Chang maximises every inch of 344-sq ft apartment This may be the tiniest apartment in the world to have a full kitchen and a bath, a well-equipped bar, guest quar-ters and 24 rooms (though not all at the same time). Using movable walls, foldable surfaces and other tricks, this ingenious architect shows that it’s pos-sible to live quite luxuriously in a very small space. At one time, there were seven people living there! Buckminster Fuller would be proud. A two-minute video tour of Chang’s apartment can be viewed at http://on.wsj.com/b4y7H4

United States: Who needs Styrofoam when you’ve got mushrooms?It’s hard to imagine too many prod-ucts less environmentally friendly than Styrofoam. One company has addressed this issue by developing a natural, compostable packing material. Evocative Design offers packing made from cottonseed and buckwheat hulls, held together with fi laments made from mushroom roots – saving 85% on energy and reducing 90% of the car-bon dioxide generated by producing Styrofoam. More information on this at http://www.ecovativedesign.com/store/

Burkina Faso: Timberless design provides sustainable housingDeforestation is a huge problem in sub-Saharan Africa, and the loss of forest often leads to desertifi cation –exacerbating hunger and other social ills in the process. Cross-pollinating a vaulted-roof housing construction technique from the Nubian culture in Egypt (on the other side of the conti-nent) with local labour and non-wood earth bricks made from local materials, French nonprofi t Association la Voute Nubienne has been building sustain-able homes and community buildings, and creating jobs. The houses cost only about US$100 each to build and make a real difference in these economically marginal communities. There is a bit of plastic sheeting involved in waterproof-ing the roof, but the house can be built without sheet metal and without timber supports, unlike the usual building styles in the Sahel region.

An English-language page about the construction technique is at http://www.lavoutenubienne.org/-The-VN-Technical-Solution.

This article kickstarts a monthly column where Shel discusses marketing ideas to reach green consumers.

Sustainability innovators around the worldBy Shel Horowitz

Shel Horowitz is the primary author of “Guerilla Marketing Goes Green”. He can be reached at shel@greenandprofi table.com

The Kenguru is a one-person electric vehicle for wheelchair users

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Taiwan exceeds target in procurementGovernment green purchasing rate hits 90%

Green promo now targets private sector

By Ning Yu

In my fi rst contribution to this maga-zine, I am providing some background information on green purchasing ac-tivities in Taiwan as this may enhance the international perspective on future discourses.

Following the adoption of the Government Procurement Act (“GPA”) in 1999, Taiwan has been actively promoting government green procure-ment based on Article 96 of the GPA. Based on this legal requirement, its Environmental Protection Administra-tion (TEPA) was handed the task of promoting and implementing voluntary green procurement measures.

TEPA adopted a phased-approach. It fi rst stipulated an annual green pro-curement goal (defi ned as a percentage of the budget spent on green products within certain designated product categories) and scope of agencies sub-jected to voluntary procurement and performance reporting.

Three types of environmentally-preferable products are defi ned, with the Green Mark Programme (the TEPA-owned ISO Type-I ecolabelling programme implemented since 1992) certifi ed products being designated as Type-I environmentally preferable (“green”) products under Article 96 of GPA.

The other two types of green products are products with self-de-clared environmental claims certifi ed by TEPA, and products licensed to use

the Energy Conservation, Water Saving or Green Construction Material labels awarded by other ministries.

TEPA then gradually raised the annual goal and expanded the scope of both product categories and govern-ment agencies. The goal was raised from 50% in 2002 to 88% last year, and the number of designated product categories is now 44.

At fi rst, only central government agencies were required to buy in. Now, all central and local government agencies together with all state-owned enterprises and institutions (including public schools, hospitals and utilities) are included in the scheme.

Since there are a great number of agencies involved, keeping up the momentum and tracking performance could become problematic. TEPA tack-les this issue using a unique mecha-nism, Common Supply Contract (CSC), which is administered by the govern-ment’s central purchasing agency, the Bank of Taiwan.

The Bank of Taiwan performs market surveys and decides on bidding prices of various products. This way, a government purchaser can simply click into the bank’s website and choose products meeting his needs without going through traditional purchasing procedures. CSC saves administrative cost and normally gets better prices from producers.

So how are the numbers shaping

up? Based on the latest annual green purchasing statistics released by TEPA in November 2010 for the fi scal year 2009, green procurement by govern-ment agencies hit a total of NT$7.15 billion (US$240 million) in 2009, an increase of NT$418 million over 2008.

Among the agencies and local governments under the Executive Yuan (executive branch of the government), green products worth NT$6.14 billion were bought, amounting to a green procurement rate of 90.4%. This not only exceeded the year’s target of 88%, but is also an increase of 14% over 2008.

It appears that the global fi nancial turmoil of 2009 did not impact the green product market, and the market was able to maintain growth in Taiwan.

For 2009, within the designated categories, the government agencies spent NT$4.48 billion on green personal computers, toner cartridges and offi ce machines, followed by NT$960 million on offi ce paper and supplies.

However, following ten years of active promotion in public sector green purchasing, TEPA appears to have harvested all the low-hanging fruits, especially with the offi ce machines and supplies, and the green purchasing goal is close to the saturation value of 90%.

TEPA is now promoting green purchasing activities to the private sector based on experiences gleaned from the public sector initiatives.

During this process, Taiwan also became involved with many international initiatives including the Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) and the International Green Purchasing Network (IGPN), and has obtained and helped with transferring many valuable lessons in promoting green products worldwide.

Dr Ning Yu is president of the Environment and Development Foundation and chairman of Taiwan Green Purchasing Alliance.

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Singapore tops list of Asian green citiesProsperity is conducive to more eco-friendly consumption habits

Asian city-dwellers projected to grow by 1.1 billion in next 20 years

By Ann Teoh

Although money is not everything when it comes to environmental performance, it helps in obvious ways, declared the inaugural Siemens Asian Green City Index 2011 report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Wealth allows cities to invest in top technologies and safeguard the environment. That is why green cities are located in wealthier nations.

However, what differentiates the good from the better is the political will and ability to execute and enforce policies and regulations, the report said.

Singapore, the index leader, is the fourth richest among the 22 surveyed,

with a per capita GDP of US$36,500, but it still scored better than the other richer cities.

Singapore was the only city in the performance band of well above aver-age. It also showed consistently strong results across individual categories: well above average for water and waste, and above average for energy and CO², land use and buildings, transport, sanitation, air quality and environmental governance.

The report says Singapore’s environmental performance is partly a legacy of its history, and that since its independence in 1965, the government had emphasised on sustainability.

Self-government, effective policy implementation and integrated master planning, are also important contributing factors. The government also focuses on key areas such as water, waste and energy effi ciency.

The correlation between GDP per capita and environmental performance was also seen in the European Green City Index, with wealthier cities leading the index, although the contrast was less clear in Latin America.

The three Japanese cities in the Siemens index (Osaka, Tokyo and Yokohama) all scored above average. The others in this above average category are leading cities in East Asia: Seoul, Taipei and Hong Kong.

All Chinese cities (Beijing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai and Wuhan) are in the average band, along with Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok and Delhi. Despite having one of the

Singapore, a prosperous city-state with a population of about 5 million people, is the greenest metropolis in Asia, according to the inaugural Siemens Asian Green City index

information

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lowest GDP (US$2,000), Delhi is in the average category, with above average rating for waste. Karachi (GDP: US$5,400), is the only city in the well

Findings• Average annual CO² emissions per

capita are 4.6 tons in the Asian cities, below the corresponding fi gure for Europe (5.2 tons per capita annually).

• The 22 Asian cities produce an average of 375kg of waste per capita per year, less than in Latin America (465kg) and Europe (511kg).

Well below average

Karachi

Below average

Bengaluru, Hanoi,Kolkata, Manila,Mumbai

Average

Bangkok, Beijing,Delhi, Guangzhou, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, NanjingShanghai, Wuhan

Above average

Hong Kong, OsakaSeoul, Taipei, Tokyo, Yokohama

Well above average

Singapore

Green City Index: Overall results

Bangkok is promoting the use of biofuels, with the authorities aiming to increase the proportion of gasohol – a mixture of gasoline and ethanol – into the fuel mix from under 20% in 2007 to 50% in 2012.

Kolkata requires all backlit billboards in West Bengal, India, to go solar. Billboards using diesel generators had to make the switch by June last year, and those using grid electricity by last December.

Ideas from other cities

Osaka increased the number of green “curtains” and “carpets” from 100 to 500 last year, planting vegetables such as bit-ter melons and sweet potatoes on roofs and walls of primary and middle schools, the city hall’s headquarters and other public facilities to ease the city’s heat island phenomena.

Tokyo created and implemented its own mandatory cap and trade system in 2010 to combat climate change. It was Asia’s fi rst. All organisations, including offi ces hospitals, universities, government buildings, that use more than 1,500 litres of oil annually for fuel, heat and electricity, are required to cut their CO² emissions by 6% by 2015, and another 17% by 2020. Those that reduce more can sell their credits.

for 80% of greenhouse gas emissions, says Barbara Kux, member of the managing board of Siemens AG and also its chief sustainability offi cer.

“That’s why cities are the place where solutions for a more sustainable future are being shaped today. The trend towards urbanisation, above all here in Asia, raises the question of how soaring populations can be provided with infrastructure that conserves resources and protects the climate,” she says.

“The share of the Asian population living in urban areas has grown from 32% in 1990 to 42% in 2010.

At the projected rates of growth, Asian cities must be ready to collectively accommodate an expected 1.1 billion additional residents over the next 20 years.”

The report, which also contains country reports and sectoral evaluation and methodology, is available for download at www.siemens.com

below average band.The study notes that Singapore

is able to afford “cutting-edge water recycling plants, waste-to-energy facilities and major investments in its transport system” while Yokohama provides generous subsidies for electric vehicles and extends technical assistance to developing countries through its innovative Water Bureau.

The report also shows that higher income does not necessarily mean higher resources consumption, with the tipping point at about US$20,000 per capita.

EIU study research head Jan Friederich says that in prosperous Asian cities, environmental awareness is greater and infrastructures, more effi cient. Cities that performed well in the index are characterised by their ability to successfully implement environmental projects and consistently enforce regulations.

Urban areas account for 75% of the world’s energy consumption and

Seoul adopted a “producer responsibility principle” for recycling items such as televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, computers and mobile phones. Buyers can ask retailers to take back free of charge the ones being replaced. The retailer is then responsible for properly disposing of them.Seoul has added more than 100km of bicycle lanes to promote the use of bikes for non-leisure purposes since 2007. As of March 2010 about 40% of Seoul’s car owners took part in the programme, contributing to a 6% drop in daily traffi c volume.

Source: Siemens Asian Green City Index 2011

Source: Siemens Asian Green City Index 2011

Challenges• Air pollution levels are relatively

high in all the cities studied, regardless of income. The average values for all the cities substantially exceed WHO standards.

• Asia’s cities to catch up on renewable energies, which on average account for 11% of the total electricity generated in the 22 cities. By comparison, the average in Latin America is 64% due to the high proportion of hydroelectric plants.

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information

Electricity-generating cycles are located in a common area below the observation deck

Evaluating building EE in a jiff y

Evaluating a commercial building’s energy effi ciency (EE) is a tedious and expensive process. Professionals spend hours walking around buildings, benchmarking and researching effi ciency solutions, and generating detailed reports. But now, it’s also possible to do all that in minutes.

A US Boston-based startup called Retrofi ciency Inc has developed a software to identify and qualify building EE measures. The predictive analytics taps into a huge archive of energy audits and an EE database to evaluate thousands of opportunities in a jiffy. All one needs are basic building specifi cations and energy usage data. World Energy Solutions Inc, which invested in Retrofi ciency, is branding the product the Virtual Energy Audit™. See www.retrofi ciency.com

smart fortwo electric cars on road test

A fl eet of 250 smart fortwo electric cars are being distributed by smart USA to early adopters who will provide feedback on their day-to-day experi-ence. Twenty are being tested by the Automobile Club of Southern Cali-fornia for their utility and benefi ts in various activities including roadside assistance, automotive services and insurance claims services. Editors from Westways, the Auto Club’s travel and lifestyle member magazine, will also use a smart fortwo EV for day trips, reporting the results to the club’s six million Southern California members via the magazine. These early adopt-ers will help defi ne new alternatives in transportation for the US.

Supply of Japanese EV and hybrid cars disrupted

Global supply of the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i-MiEV – both electric vehicles (EV) made exclusively in Japan – might be interrupted in light of the Sendai earthquake and tsunami devastation. According to PluginCars.com, a shipment of over 600 Nissan Leaf left port in Japan for the US just a day before the earthquake but future

delivery timelines are uncertain due to Japan’s damaged transportation infrastructure and shipping facilities.

Surging US demand for the Toyota Prius is also going unmet. Earl Stewart, the owner of Earl Stewart Toyota in North Palm Beach, Florida, told the New York Times that his dealership had recently sold out the popular Japanese-built hybrid car, and he can only wonder how long it would be before the situation in Japan improves enough to “get Priuses back on the ships.”

Environmental insurance launched in Asia

Increased governmental commitment to environmental protection is shaping product offerings by fi nancial services in Asia. Allied World Assurance

Tourists to Malaysia’s Kinabatangan region may now put their eco-beliefs into prac-tice. Borneo Nature Lodge in Sukau, Sabah, now off ers its guests the option of cycling for an hour to power the fans and lights in their rooms. The lodge also uses environ-ment-friendly features such as solar power, energy-saving light bulbs, glass walls to maximise natural light, rainwater collection for toilets, and silent, electric motors for its river cruises. Construction cleared only shrubs and small trees with a girth of less than 9cm in to minimise impact on the surrounding forests. See www.borneonaturelodge.com.my or call +60 89 210 718/9

Company Ltd recently launched an environmental liability line of business throughout the Asia-Pacifi c region. Initial product offerings include both contractors’ pollution liability and pollution liability for scheduled sites, with limits of up to US$10 million offered for each pollution incident and in the aggregate.

The company’s head of general casualty, Jota Shohtoku, says, “We created this line of business in response to our clients’ needs. Businesses throughout the region are now required to have environmental liability insurance either through regulation or contractual obligation and we recognise the value in providing this service.”

Smart grid sensor market value at US$6.3b by 2014

Revenue from sales of sensors and related software to the worldwide smart grid sector is projected at US$6.3 billion by 2014 and US$13 billion by 2018.

US industry analyst Nano-

Pedal power in Borneo

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Upcoming events

Markets made this projection in its latest smart grid report availlable at http://www.nanomarkets.net.

The report says Europe will be the largest market for smart grid sensors until 2016, accounting for almost 40% of the market in 2014.

Asia is often considered to be the “land of opportunity” for smart grids, but European nations have focused on smart distribution, which is heav-ily dependent on sensor deployment. By contrast, Asian countries have been more interested in building high capacity bulk transmission systems.

Transformers are the power companies’ biggest capital invest-ments but have traditionally been managed manually, retroactively and ineffi ciently. Next-generation sensors deployed at substations will aid utilities to avoid unplanned failures, reduce maintenance costs and extend useful transformer life.

As a result, NanoMarkets ex-pects to see transformer monitor-ing sensors generate revenues of US$935 million by 2014 to reach US$2,725 billion by 2018.

Renewables beat fossil fuels

Global investments in renewable power generation (US$140 billion) far exceeded that of fossil-fuelled power generation (US$110 billion) in 2009, reported Frost & Sullivan. It also said access to clean technology remains the global focus towards to a resource-effi cient and green economy.

The research company’s Bench-marking Country Initiatives on Envi-ronment in Asia Pacifi c report says the global market value of traditional environmental goods and services, renewable energy and emerging low-carbon activities was US$7.77 trillion in 2007–08, with a potential to grow

45% by 2015. “The number of green energy and climate-friendly projects is increasing rapidly in both the public and private sectors in the Asia Pa-cifi c,” says Frost & Sullivan consultant Chukiat Wongtaveerat. “Moreover, high-initiative countries have allocated substantial funds for green invest-ment themes, which include boosting green infrastructure, using low-carbon and renewable power, ensuring en-ergy effi ciency, as well as controlling water usage and waste generation.”

JV to provide smart grid innovative solution

Communications company AT&T and US Georgia-based startup E3 Greentech are banding up to provide wireless access to a central unit in the home to help homeowners and property managers monitor and man-age their energy use, and thus reduce waste. The system, said to be one of the most innovative solutions available today in smart grid market technology, uses a cloud-based services platform and intelligent software combined with in-home energy optimisation hardware to deliver savings effortlessly. The E3 solution matches rather than controls consumer behaviour but promises energy savings of at least 15% and cuts in peak energy demand of at least 25%. The wirelessly connected system will be available in late summer.

British farmers slam UK FIT cuts

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU), the largest farming organisation in the UK, has branded its government’s plans to slash the feed-in tariff (FIT) incentives to large solar installations as ill-judged and extremely damaging for renewable energy in Britain. The government recently did a “fast-track” review of the FIT for solar PV and bio-gas to prevent large installations from swallowing up subsidies. From August 1st, the proposed new tariff would cause a 900-square-metre solar roof rated at 100 kW to suffer a 42% cut in tariff to 19p/kWh, while larger solar in-stallations would have their incentives cut by 72%. Anaerobic digestion tariffs are proposed to rise by just 8 to 17% (1p-2p/kWh for smaller systems).

May

April

June

July

August

Business for the Environment (B4E) Global Summit 2011 April 27th – 29th 2011Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta, Indonesia http://www.b4esummit.com/

The 10th World Wind Energy Conference and Renewable Energy ExhibitionMay 11th – 14th 2011 League of Arab States Building, Cairo, Egypthttp://www.wwec2011.net/

The 4th Annual China Green Transport Summit and Exhibition (CGTS)May 24th – 25th 2011Pullman Sanya Yalong Bay Resort & Spa, Hainan, Chinahttp://www.hnzmedia.com/events/cgts-ev2011/en/

2011 International Conference on Environment and Industrial Innovation ICEII June 4th – 5th 2011MINES Wellness Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysiawww.iceii.org

Clean Energy Expo ChinaJune 22nd – 24th 2011 CNCC, Beijing, Chinahttp://www.cleanenergyexpochina.com/

Clean Power Asia Conference & Expo 2011June 28th – 30th 2011InterContinental Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailandhttp://www.cleanpower-asia.com/

2nd Annual Cleantech Investment World Asia 2011July 11th – 14th 2011Grand Hyatt Hotel, Singaporehttp://www.terrapinn.com/2011/clean-technology-investment-world-asia/

Green Automobil 2011 ExpoAugust 10th – 12th 2011Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, Indiahttp://greenautomobil.com

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information

The Land of Smiles is dishing out incentives to attract green investment. Since April 2010, the Thai Board of Investment (BOI) has designated the whole of Thailand (except for Bangkok) as an Investment Promotional Zone, and allocated, with that, a host of incentives that include exemptions on import duty for machinery and on corporate income tax for eight years.

Under the Investment Promotion Scheme for Sustainable Development, activities related to energy conserva-tion and alternative energy, eco-friend-ly materials and products and high technology business are deemed “pri-ority activities for special privileges.”

Energy conservation and alterna-tive energy include the production of alcohol or fuel from agro products like scrap, garbage and/or waste, manufacture of fuel cells and energy-conserving or alternative energy machinery, and generation of electric-

ity from steam power. The defi nition for high technology is wide-ranging, encompassing biotechnology, nano materials, microelectronics, machinery parts, aircrafts, solar cells and its raw materials, and more.

Investors will be spared import duty for machinery and enjoy a 50%

income tax cut on net profi t for up to fi ve years from the end of the incentive period. They will also receive double deduction for transportation, electric-ity and water costs for 10 years, and deduction of infrastructure costs from net profi t in addition to normal depre-ciation of not more than 25% of the investment.

The FAQ on the website states: under the Investment Promotion Act, the BOI provides guarantees against nationalisation; competition from new state enterprises; price controls; state monopolisation of the sale of products similar to those produced by promoted projects; against tax exempt imports by government agencies or state enter-prises. The BOI also guarantees per-mission to export, to own land to carry out promoted activities and to take or remit foreign currency abroad.

Applications must be made to the board by end of 2012. For further infor-mation, see www.boigo.th/english/

Incentives for green investments in Thailand

Sugar cane on the way to a processing plant; incentives are available for production of fuel from agro scrap

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Clean technology has proven to be a fantastic money-spinner in the past decade, with amazing growth that rivals technology revolutions like telephony, computers, and the Internet.

The Clean Energy Trends 2011 report, released in March by Clean Edge Inc, says the global market for solar photovoltaics (PV) leapt from just US$2.5 billion in 2000 to US$71.2 billion in 2010, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39.8%. The global market for wind power also shot from US$4.5 billion in 2000 to more than US$60.5 billion (CAGR of 29.7%) in the same period. Other clean tech sectors, such as hybrid electric vehicles, green buildings, and smart grid, also recorded spectacular growth rates.

The report charts an overall growth trend for 2010. Combined global revenue for solar PV, wind power, and biofuels grew by 35.2% within a year, from US$139.1 billion in 2009 to US$188.1 billion in 2010.

Worldwide, new PV installations more than doubled last year, rising from 7.1GW in 2009 to 15.6GW in 2010. The bulk of the growth was said to be the direct result of PV prices falling by more than 30% in 2009 followed by another 10% dip in 2010. Going forward, solar PV (including modules, system components, and installation) is projected to grow from a US$71.2 billion industry in 2010 to US$113.6 billion by 2020.

Biofuels (global production and wholesale pricing of ethanol and biodiesel), which reached US$56.4 billion in 2010, are projected to double to US$112.8 billion by 2020. In 2010, the biofuels market was said to consist of more than 27.2 billion gallons of ethanol and biodiesel production worldwide, up from 23.6 billion gallons in 2009.

Wind power (new installation capital costs) is projected to soar from US$60.5 billion in 2010 to US$122.9 billion in 2020. However, last year, global wind power installations dropped slightly to 35.2GW, down from a record 37.5GW the year before.

China, which has been leading in new installations for the third year in a row, added on another 16GW in 2010. The US market, however, continued to decline with a tight project fi nance market, uncertainty around project grants and the lack of a federal Renewal Portfolio Standards, among other challenges. It added only another 5GW in 2010. Thus, China is now the leader in total wind power installs, with a capacity of more than 42GW.

Clean Edge Inc also believes that the global market for solar PV, wind power and biofuels will continue to be a signifi cant business opportunity, with a growth of 85% from US$188.1 billion in 2010 to US$349.2 billion in the next decade. When the market research fi rm released projections for solar and wind power 10 years ago, however, observers thought they were extremely optimistic.

Back then, it estimated that solar power would grow from a global market of US$2.5 billion in 2000 to US$23.5 billion by 2010 (the actual was US$71.2 billion) and that wind power would rise from a global market of US$4 billion in 2000 to US$43.5 billion by 2010 (the actual was US$60.5 billion).

“But as we’ve highlighted above, we were actually quite conservative in our estimates, coming up around 300% short in our solar PV estimates and approximately 5% short in our wind estimates,” states the report.

The report is available on http://www.cleanedge.com/reports/pdf/Trends2011.pdf

Fantastic money spinners in clean tech Global PV market up from US$2.5b in 2000 to US$71.5b in 2010

Solar, wind and biofuels from US$188.1b in 2010 to US$349.2b in 2020

Global clean-energy production projected growth2010–2020 ($US billion)

Bio-fuel

$112.8

$122.9

$113.6

$349.2

$56.4

$60.5

$71.2

$188.1

Wind power

Solarpower

Total

$0 $25 $50 $75 $100 $125 $150 $175 $200 $225 $250 $275 $300 $325 $350

2010

2020

Source: Clean Edge, Inc, 2011

modules, system components, and installation

new installation capital costs

global production and wholesale pricing of ethanol and biodiesel

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information

Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) is an internationally recognised green build-ing certifi cation system developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). While it has been the mark of sustainable construction in North America for over a decade now, LEED recently gained prominence in the region with news of projects such as Pratt & Whitney’s Shanghai Engine Center and India’s ITC Hotel Royal Gar-denia in Bengaluru achiev-ing landmark Platinum LEED certifi cations for Asia.

Published in 2010, Ari Meisel’s LEED Materials: A Resource Guide to Green Building provides a materi-als-based guide to planning and designing a LEED-cer-tifi able building. Nearly 200 products, materials and ser-vices are featured here. Each resource is explained on a full-colour illustrated profi le page with three simple ques-tions – What is it? Where can I use it? Why is it green? – and a list of “LEED credits” indicates how the mate-rial’s proper usage can help maximise a project’s LEED rating. The supplier’s contact information is also included in each profi le.

This 2010 USAID publication estimates that global compact fl uorescent lamp (CFL) production has increased six-fold in barely a decade, from 500 million lamps in 2000 to over 3 billion lamps in 2008. In the future, government-supported plans to phase out the use of

David JC McKay’s Sustain-able Energy – Without the Hot Air comes highly recom-mended by leading authori-ties in industry, academia and policy-making. It is an especially accessible guide on the use and sourcing of energy, as well as the chal-lenges and opportunities to be found in switching to more sustainable means of powering industry and day-to-day life.

Readers seeking information to use in policy papers, business plans or academic projects will ap-preciate McKay’s clear use of numeric data, with careful notes on their limitations, as well as his user-friendly presentation and pragmatic, conversational style of writing.

While McKay is British (his wonderful wry sense of humour attests to this) and his case studies draw heavily on scenarios in Britain, the book is based on principles and learnings relevant to many other parts of the world. McKay’s passion for the subject combines aca-

demic and public policy per-spectives: he is a Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Cam-bridge and also a member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Climate Change.

Casual readers will fi nd Sustainable Energy a useful resource for debunking myths, identifying proven energy-saving measures, highlighting effective inno-vations, and unpacking over-used yet underexamined popular science approxima-tions we have come to take for granted. (If building 10 new nuclear reactors would generate ten swimming pools’ worth of spent fuel, how much waste are we really talking about here? McKay informs us that the volume of one Olympic-size swimming pool is 3,000m3.)

Best of all, for those who can’t fi nd this in local bookstores but cannot wait to have a hard copy shipped to them internationally, McKay has given ultimate proof of his sincerity and commit-ment to public teaching on green energy: his entire book is available online at abso-lutely no charge and is down-loadable in PDF format from www.withouthotair.com.

LEED Materials: A Resource Guide to Green Building

Author: Ari MeiselPublisher: Princeton Architectural Press

Testing for Quality: Benchmarking Energy-Saving Lamps in Asia

Publisher: United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air

Author: David JC MacKayPublisher: UIT Cambridge Ltd

“This [book] is to energy and climate what Freakonomics is to economics.” – Cory Doctorow

incandescent lamps could boost the demand for CFLs to as many as 10 billion units annually.

However, problems of inconsistent and often substandard product quality in CFLs being sold across Asian markets threaten to weaken long-term consumer acceptance of CFLs and undermine efforts to reduce environmental pollution through their use.

This report details fi ndings and recommenda-tions from a 2008 regional CFL quality and perfor-mance benchmark testing programme partnership between the ECO-Asia Clean Development and Climate Program (ECO-Asia) and the Australian Department of Environment, Water, Heri-tage and the Arts (DEWHA) under the auspices of the Asia-Pacifi c Partnership on Clean Deve-lopment and Climate (APP).

Market sampling in six countries (Australia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam) and subsequent tests revealed that while name-brand CFLs generally performed better than low-priced models, overall at least one-third of CFLs sampled failed to meet minimum performance standards.

The full report can be downloaded in PDF at: http: //usaid.eco-asia.org/pro-grams/cdcp/benchmarking-energy-saving-lamps.html

siemens.com/answers

Sustainability is more than a single technology. It’s the philosophy behind everything Siemens is doing around the world.

In 1884, our founder made a simple vow: “I will not sell the future for temporary gain.” That’s the philosophy we still live by today. In Ontario, our wind turbines generate clean, renewable power. Our smart building technologies dot the skyline in New York and Dubai. Our commuter trains reshape cities like Paris and Kuala Lumpur. And our affordable healthcare solutions help hospitals cut costs in Cairo and Colombia. We’re building answers to today’s toughest questions – and we’re building them to last.

Can one technology sustainour entire way of life?

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